• U.S., China Compete for Africa's Rare Earth Minerals

    African countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo have some of the largest deposits of these resources, but China currently dominates the supply chain as well as their refinement and the U.S. wants to reduce its reliance on the Asian giant.

  • Floods, Rising Sea Levels Push Planned Internal Migration

    Climate change could force billions to move by the end of the century, displaced by floods and rising sea levels. Some communities are already adapting through managed retreat and moving people to other areas.

  • Earthquake Footage Shows Turkey’s Buildings Collapsing Like Pancakes. An Expert Explains Why

    Many of the collapsed buildings appear to have been built from concrete without adequate seismic reinforcement. Seismic building codes in this region suggest these buildings should be able to sustain strong earthquakes (where the ground accelerates by 30% to 40% of the normal gravity) without incurring this type of complete failure. The 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes appear to have caused shaking in the range of 20 to 50% of gravity. A proportion of these buildings thus failed at shaking intensities lower than the “design code.”

  • Gauging Losses and Lessons in Turkey's Unfolding Earthquake Calamity

    As earthquake engineers stress, most of the time, buildings kill people, not the shaking itself. Many of the buildings destroyed in the quake had “soft floors” – ground-level retail spaces with very little reinforcement supporting far heavier residential floors above; buildings where, for tax purposes, higher floors jutted out beyond the dimensions of the ground floor; or homes where floors were added as families expanded. Engineers call such structures “rubble in waiting.”

  • Powering the Nation: How to Fix the Transformer Shortage

    America’s electric grid relies on transformers — electrical components that convert voltage, enabling power distribution to homes and businesses. Disruptions to transformer operations, such as natural disasters, extreme weather, or cyber/physical attacks, cause substantial economic damage. Securing the transformer supply chain is critical to ensure resilience, expand renewable power, and strengthen grid safety. To mitigate potential disruptions, Congress should spur the supply of transformers by investing in domestic transformer manufacturing and workforce development.

  • Supporting Dams with Innovative Materials

    There are about 91,000 dams in the United States. About half the dams built in the past century and a half are starting to show their age, with resulting wear and tear. Severe weather events, extreme temperatures, erosion and rising water levels are all straining the infrastructure and exacerbating the impacts of deterioration and aging processes. In many cases, simply replacing the dams and levees is not a viable option due to high costs.

  • Creating Buildings That Can Withstand the Most Extreme Stress Loads

    Combined ballistic impacts pose a major challenge for engineers who build structures that must withstand extreme stresses. An explosion can hurtle fragments and debris at enormous velocities so they strike the surroundings. Then comes the shock wave. It’s a scary combination.

  • Western Wildfires Destroyed 246% More Homes and Buildings Over the Past Decade

    It can be tempting to think that the recent wildfire disasters in communities across the West were unlucky, one-off events, but evidence is accumulating that points to a trend. In nearly every Western state, more homes and buildings were destroyed by wildfire over the past decade than the decade before, revealing increasing vulnerability to wildfire disasters.

  • Grant to Support High-Potential Computer Science Students

    The University of Texas at El Paso received a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide financial support and professional development experiences to talented students in the field of computer science.

  • Restoring Power to the Grid

    Computer scientists have been working on an innovative computer model to help grid operators quickly restore power to the electric grid after a complete disruption, a process called a black start.

  • Half of U.S. Coastal Communities Underestimate Sea Level Risks

    Many communities in the United States underestimate how much sea level will rise in their area, according to a new study. In many cases, especially in Southern states, local policymakers rely on one average estimate of sea level rise for their area rather than accounting for more extreme scenarios.

  • Sea Change for Hull

    With a changing climate and rising sea levels putting cities at risk of flooding, it’s crucial for planners to increase their cities’ resilience. A new tool has been developed to help them – and it started with the throwing of a thousand virtual hexagons over Hull.

  • Science and Supercomputers Help Utilities Adapt to Climate Change

    Northern Illinois traditionally enjoys four predictable seasons. But climate is changing, with big repercussions for the people who live in the region and the power grid that supports them.

  • New Generator Rolls into Ocean Energy

    Tsunamis, hurricanes, and maritime weather are monitored using sensors and other devices on platforms in the ocean to help keep coastal communities safe—until the batteries on these platforms run out of juice. The nanogenerator harnesses the energy of the ocean to power sensors and more.

  • Supply-Chain Disruptions a Threat to Maintenance of Infrastructure, Critical Equipment

    The ability to deploy and maintain infrastructure and equipment is crucial to military operations and national security. But there is a problem: the ability to make and repair equipment in a wide range of operational environments is increasingly vulnerable to disruptions in global supply chains and to attacks.