This proposal requests support to send 15 students over three years from the Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Repair of Buildings and Bridges with Composites at the University of Missouri, Rolla, to the University of Naples - Federico II (UniNa) in Italy. Dr. John Myers is the PI on the US side, and Prof. Gaetano Manfredi, in the Department of Structural Analysis and Design, is his counterpart at UniNa. UniNa is making available to the program four long-span bridges (i.e. two twin viaducts), a unique, state-of-the-art open-air laboratory to field validate the full-scale performance and behavior of structures.
Intellectual merit. The project will allow US students of architecture, architectural engineering, and civil engineering to work at UniNa on collaborative project-based research in an international multidisciplinary setting. Through the project, they will be exposed to three important topics: full-scale investigation under seismic and blast loads, laboratory testing, and health monitoring. They will have access to a unique in situ laboratory, the twin viaducts. They are expected to use the results of their work at UniNa as the topic of their thesis or dissertation.
Broader impact. The UniNa experience will provide US students exposure to global research in an international setting, contributing to their development as globally engaged and globally competitive engineers. It will also provide them with foreign contacts that are expected to be of benefit to them throughout their careers. It will encourage them to incorporate the international dimension in their future work.
