CLUSTER 4: WHEN DISASTER STRIKES: EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

If Yoda wandered in to our cluster four workspace during this first week of COSMOS, no doubt he

would have observed that the force is indeed with us. Forces, loads, moments, trusses, and perhaps some

tension (and compression) were in the room as well. Our tenacious students were exposed to some sopho-

more and junior level engineering concepts during lecture, definitely challenging them at times, but they

emerged with a feeling of accomplishment and curiosity.

Principal instructor Adel provided the bulk of the engineering lectures, and facilitated the activities

along with cluster assistant and graduate student Brandon and undergraduate cluster assistant Allen. Stu-

dents initially began a group team building activity involving the designing and building of a K’Nex struc-

ture, and then testing it on the shake table. The complication was that they were judged on a performance

index for their structure, requiring their design to account for the costs of the pieces. We had some re-

wards for the winning group, which seemed to inspire the other groups in the subsequent activities.

On day 2 they were fortunate to learn the basics of truss analysis. Students may have suggested I

used the term ‘endured’ instead of ‘fortunate’, but when the dust settled they really did have a deeper ap-

preciation for the usefulness of mathematics in engineering. After designing their own trusses, a load was

applied to the point of failure, and the students analyzed the performance.

Further testing and analysis was conducted on several different types of metal ‘coupons’ as stu-

dents considered tensile stress and strain, and capacity and demand. Your students will happily explain

these concepts to you sometime!

On Friday students were placed into one of eight project groups: timber structures, masonry struc-

tures, reinforced concrete columns, liquefaction, slope stability, tuned mass dampers, base isolators, or

soft story structures. Next week we will hit the beach at Torrey Pines State Park for some geological appre-

ciation and time in the sun before designing and building prototype project structures.

Our Cluster 4 Cosmopolitans continue to im-

press us with their superior work effort, problem solv-

ing strategies, and tremendously positive attitudes.

Above all that, we find this group to be a very warm

and friendly assembly of inquisitive young adults. Good

job parents! Students have begun their project work,

and are busy organizing responsibilities and creating

designs.

The eight project groups each have their own

unique characteristics and design challenges, not to

mention time management hurdles. Yet, the students

have bravely forged ahead, and soon will experience

the realities of a three week deadline. During the morn-

ing sessions, Adel continues to explore various aspects

of engineering design considerations with the students,

preparing them to strike out on their own with idea

development. Following approval of their designs, they

began building and will eventually test their models

based upon the assigned structural type. Cluster Assis-

tants Brandon and Allen keep very busy advising and

supporting our student groups during the afternoon

project sessions. In other

news, our students were treated to a Discovery Lecture

by Dr. Gabriel Silva on Tuesday. His research revolves

around the human brain, neural computation, and arti-

ficial intelligence. It is powerful for the students to ex-

perience his passion towards such an interesting issue,

and to understand that he also considers the ethical

applications of his research. On Thursday we are

attending our first cluster exploration hour, where they

are able to hear about the cool things other clusters are

doing. The final exploration hour will be next week.

After Tuesday’s lecture, we soaked in the

warm San Diego sun and learned about San Diego geol-

ogy from Bob. We trekked a short distance up Mt. Sole-

dad and were inspired by the beauty of a 360 degree

view. Box lunches were enjoyed on the beach at nearby

La Jolla (tough job, isn’t it!) before we journeyed to

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. We learned more

about Mesozoic nature of the local rock formations, the

ancient Ballena River and Poway clasts, then hiked

down the trail to the beach. Before returning to cam-

pus, students relaxed on the beach and appreciated the

amazing setting that UCSD students are so fortunate to

experience. Our student groups are func-

tioning well thus far, and the process of building,

testing, analyzing, and redesigning will continue into

next week. Those families taking advantage of Parent

Weekend will undoubtedly hear all about their success-

es and challenges over some home cooking. They look

forward to sharing their final results and products with

you in two more weeks. As always, please keep up with

their endeavors by checking out our Cluster 4 Website

and photo galleries.

CLUSTER 4: WHEN DISASTER STRIKES: EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

Thomas Edison reportedly mused, “I have not

failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” We

needn’t worry about our COSMOpolitans encountering a

shortage of ideas, as they were extremely busy this week

with testing and retrofitting their structures. Deciding upon

the best idea was challenging, but that’s hand in hand with

the process of engineering.

Week three is in the books, and their progress

has been substantial. This week is typically a transitional

week, as students returning from the fun and relaxation of

parent’s weekend awaken to the realities of deadlines,

analysis, and the expectation of finishing in two more short

weeks. They are actively involved with finishing seismic

testing, redesigning and retrofitting, and final testing of

their newly strengthened structures. It requires and teach-

es the importance of teamwork and time management to

effectively and successfully conclude the structural engi-

neering component of their assigned project. Compound-

ing the frenzy of planning is the initial designing of their

group’s website, including the formalizing of their geo-

physical setting information and associated Powerpoint

presentation. As Bob says, “There is no such thing as free

time!”

Students embraced two trips outside of the lab

this week. They enjoyed a tour of the campus CalTrans

SRMD facility. You may enjoy reading more about it your-

self at this link: http://structures.ucsd.edu/research/

laboratory-listing/srmd. The Seismic Response Modifica-

tion Devices are used to test structures such as highway

bridge columns under earthquake stresses. On Thursday

we bussed to the San Diego Office of Emergency Services,

receiving a tour detailing the responsibilities of city person-

nel during fires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

We residents of San Diego thoroughly appreciate the level

of preparation detailed in order to successfully provide the

vital services to citizens following such an event. The build-

ing itself has been fitted with base isolation devices, which

the students saw from below ground level. The day con-

cluded with an amazing tour of the Englekirk Center and

the UCSD NEES shake table, a full scale earthquake shake

table, capable of testing buildings as tall as seven stories.

You may enjoy watching their testing videos at http://

neestpm.ucsd.edu/. It was truly special to see and learn

about such a world-class facility.

As week four approaches, students will give more

thought to communication skills in order to best showcase

their project results. This will involve further analysis of

their eventual data and methodology, and brainstorming

ways to best organize the details of their journey through

cluster 4. We press on towards the completion of our pro-

jects, and producing some terrific posters and professional

presentations for our cluster families to enjoy.

CLUSTER 4: WHEN DISASTER STRIKES: EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

With COSMOS Opening Day as a distant

memory four weeks ago, our talented Cluster 4 stu-

dents march toward their eagerly anticipated research

expo on Friday. Having met poster content deadlines

including abstract creation, elaboration of their geo-

physical setting, and data analysis, our eight project

groups look forward to showing their families what

hard work can yield.

The week began with some final testing of

their structures on the somewhat tired shake table. It

has performed well after some intense usage for four

weeks. Tuesday brought a fascinating Discovery Lecture

with Dr. Adam Burgasser of UC San Diego’s Center for

Astrophysics and Spaces Sciences. His team recently

played a role in the discovery of a new planetary sys-

tem, named TRAPPIST-1, containing seven Earth-sized

planets orbiting a single star. Such experiences are

such a highlight of COSMOS, and it was interesting

hearing our students discuss their excitement and

their stimulating questions about what this discovery

means to humanity and scientific knowledge.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent finish-

ing, editing, and polishing their posters and presenta-

tions. It is not a simple task to communicate your ex-

perimental processes, your data, and your analysis,

especially to an audience unfamiliar with structural

engineering. Rehearsals have paid dividends, and our

groups feel the confidence that accompanies proper

practice. To lighten the busy mood, students played a

lively ‘Engineering Jeopardy’ game, improvised a ping

pong court, and participated in a question and answer

with an engineering undergraduate.

So the conclusion of COSMOS 2017 is here,

and our students have expressed their thoughtfulness

by thanking our cluster staff members. They gave an

ovation to lead instructor Adel upon his final lecture,

and similarly let cluster assistants Brandon and Allen

know how much their help was appreciated. We have

enjoyed the students as well, and look forward to hear-

ing of their applications of COSMOS skills in their future

high school and college careers. This was a warm, in-

sightful, and friendly group. We wish them all the best!

CLUSTER 4: WHEN DISASTER STRIKES: EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING