Lehigh University
NHERI Experimental Facility

Workshop Information

The NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility (EF) hosts multiple workshop throughout the year to provide prospective users with the knowledge of facility capabilities, Experimental Protocol and discuss details toward developing research proposals. Materials and results from previous Lehigh workshops are available below.

NHERI LEHIGH RESEARCHER WORKSHOP: MITIGATION OF NATURAL HAZARDS THROUGH COMPONENT TESTING, ADVANCED SIMULATION, AND LARGE-SCALE MULTI-DIRECTIONAL EXPERIMENTS

November 16-17, 2023 | 8:30am – 1:00pm EST

About the Workshop

The event will provide participants with the opportunity to learn more about the facility by attending presentations on the capabilities and resources of the facility, taking part in a laboratory tour, and witnessing demonstrations of component-scale and large-scale multi-directional experimental tests, and real-time hybrid simulations subjected to climate change induced natural hazard events including wind, waves, and earthquakes.

Participants will learn how the facility can be used to tackle grand challenge problems, such as those discussed in the NHERI Science Plan. Past and current projects will be presented by researchers who have successfully used the facility to illustrate how prospective researchers can use the facility to tackle some of these challenges. Attendees will learn how physics-based machine learning models can be utilized in real-time hybrid simulations and large-scale multi-directional experiments.

The workshop with provide prospective researchers with valuable information and insight that enables them to develop strategies for writing successful NSF research proposals that utilize the NHERI Lehigh EF. Workshop participants will be given the opportunity to attend office hours to discuss their interests and gain mentorship in preparing research proposals through face-to-face meetings with the PI and facility staff.

The goals of this workshop are to:

• Disseminate information on the use of the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility (EF) to conduct state-of-the-art research and recent advances in simulation to mitigate the effects of natural hazards on civil infrastructure including the use of machine learning models, advanced data visualization techniques, and fluid-structure and soil-structure interaction models.
• Highlight testimony of researchers who have used the facility to provide examples of how prospective researchers can utilize the NHERI Lehigh EF.
• Demonstrate experiments and simulations which utilize component scale, hybrid simulations, and large-scale test beds to illustrate how prospective researchers can utilize facility equipment.
• Identify challenges, including those documented in the NHERI Science Plan, and the role of the NHERI program in addressing these challenges.
• Facilitate sharing of ideas and research collaboration among workshop participants.
• Provide guidance for preparing competitive NHERI research proposals.

 Presentations and outcomes of the workshop:

Day 1

Day 2

NHERI LEHIGH RESEARCHER VIRTUAL WORKSHOP: CAPABILITIES, PROJECT EXAMPLES, AND GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSALS

August 17th, 2023 | 12pm-2pm EDT

Workshop Recording

About the Virtual Workshop

This NHERI Lehigh researcher workshop was held virtually to enable participants to learn more about the facility capabilities and its utilization for conducting hazard simulations while learning about past and current projects, and guidance for planning research proposals that would utilize the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility (EF).

The goals of this workshop were to:

• Disseminate information on the use of the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility EF to conduct state-of-the-art research and recent advances in simulation to mitigate the effects of natural hazards on the civil infrastructure.
• Showcase the expanded capabilities for structural testing and simulation, including the Real-time Cyber-Physical Structural Systems Testing Facility, that enables state-of-the-art computational simulations and experiments to be performed for developing resilient solutions to natural hazards mitigation.
• Identify and develop opportunities for researchers to utilize the NHERI Lehigh EF.

NHERI LEHIGH RESEARCHER WORKSHOP: DEVELOPING NATURAL HAZARDS MITIGATION STRATEGIES THROUGH ADVANCED SIMULATION

December 8th-9th, 2022 | 8:30am-1pm EST

About the Workshop

The NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility will be hosting a Researcher Workshop on Thursday, December 8th and Friday, December 9th. The event will provide participants with the opportunity to learn more about the facility by attending presentations on the capabilities and resources of the facility, taking part in a laboratory tour, and witnessing hands-on demonstrations of several large scale multi-directional real-time hybrid simulations of structural systems subjected to extreme natural hazard events that include wind and earthquakes.

Participants will learn how the facility can be used to tackle grand challenge problems, such as those discussed in the NHERI Science Plan. The portfolio of past and current projects will be presented to illustrate how researchers have used the facility to tackle some of these challenges. Attendees will come away from the workshop with valuable Information and insight that enables them to develop strategies for writing successful NSF research proposals that utilize the NHERI Lehigh EF. Workshop participants will be given the opportunity to attend office hours to discuss their interests and gain mentorship in preparing research proposals through face-to-face meetings with the PI and facility staff.

The goals of this workshop are to:

• Disseminate information on the use of the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility (EF) to conduct state-of-the-art research and recent advances in simulation to mitigate the effects of natural hazards on the civil infrastructure;
• Showcase the newly expanded capabilities for structural testing and simulation, including the Real-time Cyber-Physical Structural Systems Testing Facility, that enables state-of-the-art computational simulations and experiments to be performed for developing resilient solutions to natural hazards mitigation that negates the effects of wind and earthquake, accounting for the effects of soil structure interaction;
• Identify challenges, including those documented in the NHERI Science Plan, and the role of the NHERI program in addressing these challenges;
• Facilitate sharing of ideas and research collaboration among workshop participants;
• Provide guidance for preparing competitive NHERI research proposals; and,
• Identify and develop opportunities for researchers to utilize the NHERI Lehigh EF.

NHERI LEHIGH RESEARCHER WORKSHOP: CAPABILITIES, PROJECT EXAMPLES, AND GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSALS

June 17th, 2022, 12pm-2pm ET

About the Workshop

This NHERI Lehigh researcher workshop will be held virtually to enable participants to learn more about the facility’s resources and capabilities, and their utilization for conducting natural hazard research.

The workshop will provide participants the opportunity to learn about past and current projects along with receiving guidance for developing research proposals that utilize the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility (EF). NSF recently announced the Engineering Civil Infrastructure (ECI) Program and new funding opportunities in transportation systems (e.g., bridges) and fire within the civil infrastructure. The NHERI Lehigh EF features unique resources for researchers to conduct studies on transportation systems and fire, among other areas identified in the ECI Program.

The goals of this workshop are to:

• Disseminate information on the use of the NHERI Lehigh EF to conduct state-of-the-art research and recent advances in simulation to mitigate the effects of natural hazards on the civil infrastructure.
• Showcase the newly expanded capabilities for structural testing and simulation, including the Real-time Cyber-Physical Structural Systems Testing Facility, that enables state-of-the-art computational simulations and experiments to be performed for developing resilient solutions to natural hazards mitigation.
• Identify and develop opportunities for researchers to utilize the NHERI Lehigh EF.

NHERI Lehigh Researcher Workshop: Meeting the Challenges of Natural Hazards Mitigation Through Advanced Simulation

December 9-10th, 2021

This NHERI researcher workshop was held at the NHERI Lehigh’s Real-Time Multi-Directional (RTMD) Facility in Bethlehem, PA to enable participants to learn more about the facility capabilities through presentations and demonstrations, to network with colleagues in the natural hazard mitigation field, and to seek guidance on planned research proposals.

The goals of this workshop were to:

1. Disseminate information on the use of the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility (EF) to conduct state-of-the-art research and recent advances in simulation to mitigate the effects of natural hazards on the civil infrastructure
2. Showcase the newly expanded capabilities for structural testing and simulation, including the Real-time Cyber-Physical Structural Systems Testing Facility, that enables state-of-the-art computational simulations and experiments to be performed for developing resilient solutions to natural hazards mitigation
3. Identify challenges and the role of the NHERI program in addressing these challenges
4. Facilitate sharing of ideas and research collaboration among workshop participants; and
5. Identify and develop opportunities for researchers to utilize the NHERI Lehigh EF.

Presentations and outcomes of the workshop:

Day 1

Day 2

NHERI Lehigh Real-Time Multi-Directional (RTMD) Experimental Facility User Workshop

Friday, September 25, 2020

11:00 am – 1:30 pm EST

The NHERI Lehigh Real-Time Multi-Directional (RTMD) Experimental Facility is hosting a virtual user workshop. The focus of the workshop is to:

1. Provide researchers with information on the capabilities of the NHERI Lehigh RTMD EF for advanced natural hazard engineering research.
2. Describe the procedures to perform large-scale experiments using the NHERI Lehigh RTMD EF.
3. Describe new capabilities and resources available for conducting research at the NHERI Lehigh RTMD EF
4. Discuss the NHERI Science Plan and how the NHERI Lehigh RTMD EF enables key research in emerging areas in natural hazard engineering
5. Explore opportunities to use the NHERI Lehigh RTMD EF for unsolicited, CAREER, and other types of NSF proposals.

Workshop participants will be provided with valuable information about the resources available at the NHERI Lehigh RTMD EF and how to engage the EF for obtaining NSF funding for natural hazards mitigation research and other basic science research. The workshop will include a virtual tour of the NHERI Lehigh RTMD EF and the EF capabilities.

Zoom Recording

Researcher’s Workshop:
Advanced Simulation for Natural Hazards Mitigation & Grand Challenges for Multi-Hazards Engineering 

In Collaboration with NHERI University of California San Diego (UCSD) and NHERI SimCenter

September 23-24, 2019

This collaborative workshop between NHERI Lehigh and NHERI UCSD and NHERI SimCenter will be held at the NHERI Lehigh’s Real-Time Multi-Directional (RTMD) Facility in Bethlehem, PA to enable participants to learn more about the facility capabilities, to network with colleagues in the natural hazard mitigation field, and to seek guidance on planned research proposals.

The goals of this workshop series are to:

• Present the capabilities of the NHERI Lehigh, NHERI UC San Diego and NHERI SimCenter at UC Berkeley facilities
• Provide researchers with information and demonstrations of the NHERI Lehigh and NHERI UC San Diego facilities and capabilities, and hands-on examples of the use of the NHERI SimCenter latest capabilities
• Present example research projects conducted using these facilities and provide suggestions on proposal preparation and planning to future users
• Support research teams planning proposals using all three or two of the three facilities
• Discuss grand challenge earthquake engineering research topics and stimulate collaboration amongst attendees to develop larger collaborative multi-university proposals

Presentations and outcomes of the workshop:

Day 1

Day 1 Zoom Recording

Day 2

Day 2 Zoom Recording

Researchers Workshop: Advanced Simulation for Natural Hazards Mitigation & Challenges and Opportunities for Multi-Hazards Engineering

December 3, 2018

This collaborative workshop between NHERI Lehigh and NHERI Florida International University will be held at the NHERI Lehigh Real-Time Multi-Directional (RTMD) Facility in Bethlehem, PA and will be developed as an interactive series of sessions that includes presentations, facility tours, and hands-on demonstrations and activities, including discussions on challenges and opportunities for multi-hazards engineering and multi-hazards hybrid simulation testing currently being collaboratively developed by NHERI Lehigh and NHERI FIU.

Participants will also learn about NHERI Lehigh, including its equipment and instrumentation portfolio and the capabilities and experimental protocols of the NHERI Lehigh EF, along with those of NHERI FIU. Participants will gain critical knowledge required to write successful NSF proposals utilizing the facility’s equipment and staff. Attendees will also be educated on the RTMD site portfolio of projects in order to guide them and generate ideas for new potential research projects. Additionally, attendees will be introduced to the real-time hybrid simulation method and have the opportunity to work with hands-on example problems using the NHERI Lehigh EF equipment.

Presentations and outcomes of the workshop:

Researchers Workshop: Advanced Simulation for Natural Hazards Mitigation

December 4, 2017

Workshop Agenda

The objectives of the workshop were:

1. to disseminate information on the use of the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility (EF) to conduct state-of-the-art research in natural hazards mitigation,
2. to provide the basics of real-time hybrid simulation through lectures and hands-on demonstrations,
3. to understand how the NHERI Lehigh EF capabilities can enhance participant research,
4. to provide information for preparing NSF proposals which use the NHERI Lehigh EF, and
5. to identify and develop opportunities to utilize the NHERI Lehigh EF.

Presentations and outcomes of the workshop:

Researchers Workshop: Advanced Simulation for Natural Hazards Mitigation

December 5-6, 2016

The objectives of the workshop were:

1. to disseminate information on the use of the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility (EF) to conduct state-of-the-art research in natural hazards mitigation,
2. to provide the basics of real-time hybrid simulation through lectures and hands-on demonstrations,
3. to understand how the NHERI Lehigh EF capabilities can enhance participant research,
4. to provide information for preparing NSF proposals which use the NHERI Lehigh EF, and
5. to identify and develop opportunities to utilize the NHERI Lehigh EF.

Presentations and outcomes of the workshop:

Researchers Workshop: Lehigh University Experimental Facility Introduction

November 9, 2015

Lehigh University’s NHERI Experimental Facility hosted its first Research Workshop on Monday, November 9th, 2015 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. For more information, please review the linked PDFs below.

The objectives of the workshop were:

• To provide participants information about the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility capabilities
• To provide the basics of real-time hybrid simulation through lectures and hands-on demonstrations
• To understand how the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility capabilities can enhance your research
• To provide information for preparing research proposals which use the NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility

Workshop documents:

• Agenda
• Intro to Lehigh Staff and Website
• NHERI Lehigh Overview
• NHERI Lehigh Experimental Capabilities and Protocols
• NHERI Lehigh Facility Project Portfolio
• Guidelines for Proposal Preparation
• RTHS Background
• Hands On Laboratory Exercises