Conference: US-UK Workshop on Transformation in Urban Underground Infrastructure; 28-29 September 2023

该奖项支持一个研讨会，该研讨会将汇集来自土木工程，城市规划，灾害管理，计算机科学，运营工程，公共政策，传感，能源和其他领域的不同但互补背景的领先专家，以确定进步的差距和机会，并确定支持地下城市基础设施系统转型的愿景。世界各地的城市一直是经济增长、技术创新和文化活力的主要驱动力。然而，它们的基础设施系统通常是旧组件和新组件的拼凑，具有不兼容的标准、材料和治理结构。因此，这种系统的性能在正常条件下固有地不可预测，在遇到极端事件时更是如此。如果基础设施系统的设计、建造和运营方式不发生范式转变，在可预见的未来，基础设施系统所能提供的服务与公民需求之间的差距将继续扩大。在城市环境中，地下基础设施所面临的挑战，如水和废水、交通、电信和电力，由于难以进入和所处的恶劣环境而加剧。通过智慧城市和数字孪生概念在城市规模上建立数字模型的早期成功提供了一个有希望的方向，现在通过传感和计算的突破而成为可能。然而，关键的知识差距仍然是大规模变革的障碍。该研讨会将促进创造性思维和知识交流，旨在为地下基础设施的转型制定愿景。它将揭示相关的研究领域，知识差距，研究机会，障碍和基础研究需求。它将有助于确定回答基本的开放性问题所需的基本理论和方法，例如，“我们如何规划和实现地下基础设施系统的脱碳目标？”以及“我们如何在正常、变化的正常和灾难条件下优化地下基础设施的日常运营？”通过与英国的联合研讨会，该奖项将创建一个国际研究路线图。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports a workshop that will bring together leading experts from diverse, but complementary backgrounds in civil engineering, urban planning, disaster management, computer science, operations engineering, public policy, sensing, energy and other fields to identify gaps and opportunities for advancement and define a vision for supporting the transformation of underground urban infrastructure systems. Urban cities across the world have been a major driver of economic growth, technological innovation, and cultural vitality. However, their infrastructure systems are often patchworks of legacy and new components with incompatible standards, materials, and governance structures. As a result, the performance of such systems has been inherently unpredictable under normal conditions and more so when subject to extreme events. Without a paradigm shift in how infrastructure systems are engineered, constructed, and operated, the gap between the service they can deliver and the demand from citizens will continue to widen in the foreseeable future. Within urban settings, the challenges faced by underground infrastructures, such as water and wastewater, transportation, telecommunication, and power, are exacerbated due to difficulties in access and the harsh environment in which they reside. Early success in building digital models at city scales through smart city and digital twin concepts offers a promising direction that is now newly enabled by breakthroughs in sensing and computation. However, key knowledge gaps remain a barrier to wholesale changes. The workshop will catalyze creative thinking and knowledge exchange with the purpose of devising a vision for transformation in underground infrastructure. It will expose relevant research areas, knowledge gaps, research opportunities, barriers, and fundamental research needs. It will aid in identifying fundamental theories and methods needed to answer fundamental, open questions, such as, “How do we plan for and achieve decarbonization goals for and by way of underground infrastructure systems?” and “How do we optimize day-to-day operations of underground infrastructures under normal, changing normal, and disaster conditions?” Through a joint workshop with the United Kingdom, this award will create an international research roadmap. It will also generate networking opportunities across nations, disciplines, and between academia and industry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.