9702744 Dickenson This action is to support an integrated research and educational-enhancement project submitted under the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. The primary objectives include investigating the use of soil improvement for insuring acceptable seismic performance of waterfront retaining structures, and creating an interdisciplinary, design-oriented course sequence for undergraduates in civil, construction and environmental engineering that will emphasize university-industry collaboration. The research component addresses the use of soil improvement as a means of limiting to acceptable levels the earthquake induced deformations of waterfront retaining structures. Recent experience has shown that waterfront retaining structures are vulnerable to damage from earthquakes, even under only moderate levels of ground shaking, a primary cause being the liquefaction of the saturated loose sandy soils that typically prevail at port facilities. The economic impact of these losses to the affected ports and to commerce dependent on port operations has been severe. Although soil improvement technology has been used to mitigate liquefaction hazards at numerous ports around the world, engineering standards for specifying the extent of remedial soil treatment required to insure the serviceability of the waterfront components after a design level earthquake have not been developed. The methods to be employed include centrifuge modeling of anchored sheetpile bulkheads and rockfill dikes, and supplementary numerical analyses. Anchored bulkheads and rockfill dikes have been selected for investigation due to their extensive use at port facilities in the United States. Technology transfer is a key component of the research. The results of this study will provide port engineers with improved methods for evaluating the seismic performance of common waterfront retaining structures, as well as design guidelines for mitigating liquefaction hazards to these structures. The principal objective of the educational component is to develop the curriculum for an integrated sequence of courses that provide a "capstone" design experience for senior-level undergraduates. The capstone sequence is intended to provide students with a project that requires: (1) the formation of a multi-disciplinary design team, (2) synthesis of acquired knowledge in the planning and design of a significant civil engineering project, and (3) additional experience with oral and written presentation skills. Course sequences will reflect the partnerships that exist in contemporary engineering practice. The synthesis and application of prior course work will be fostered by the student's participation in a "real-world" design experience. In addition to the coordinated engineering design, the projects will emphasize ethics in practice, economics, environmental impacts, and the influence of socio-political factors on design. This integrated program will include: interdisciplinary team building and the role of collaboration in practice, and the influence of "non-engineering" factors on the design and construction of civil engineering works. The significance of the capstone program is that this instructional technique has been identified as a method of enhancing student's preparation for careers in the dynamic field of civil and environmental engineering.
