The understanding of the behavior of structural systems during earthquakes is important to life safety and the preservation of capital investment. This fundamental understanding bears directly on the ability of engineers to be able to design efficient and economical structures. The research which will be undertaken by the investigator will be focused in the areas of understanding and modeling the behavior of structures during earthquakes, and new and innovative schemes of earthquake resistant design. The important concept of accounting for and taking advantage of the contribution of non-structural and architectural components in the design process will be investigated. This can lead to significant advances in earthquake resistant design methodologies. Integrated into this research will be the application of computers to the structural design process where it is expected that a high degree of automation will be able to be achieved in certain design cases. This research will provide the base support to Dr. Filippou for a Presidential Young Investigator Award.
