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1. Editorial: Technology transfer from the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI)

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2023.1269036  

   Blain, Cheryl Ann; Ramirez, Julio Alfonso (August 2023, Frontiers in Built Environment)

   Technology transfer entails the systematic transference of scientific research results to practical tasks. The research product may be a novel design, an effective process, a tool or a set of tools. Effective technology transfer depends on many factors. It includes recognizing a gap in knowledge, focusing on the end user’s needs, long-term planning, effective communication and collaboration between researchers, standards organizations, and potential users, and a successful reduction of the knowledge or training burden required by the user. This Research Topic provides five examples of robust technology transfer from researchers seeking to mitigate the effect of natural hazards on the built and natural environment—transfers of knowledge that will significantly advance our nation’s resilience in the face of growing natural hazard threats. In 2016, the National Science Foundation established the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) network. NHERI provides engineering and social science researchers with access to a world-class research infrastructure to support their efforts to improve the resilience and sustainability of the nation’s civil, natural and social infrastructure against earthquakes, windstorms and associated natural hazards such as tsunami and storm surge in coastal areas. Supported by the National Science Foundation, NHERI is a nation-wide network that consists of 12 university-based, shared-use experimental facilities, a computational modeling and simulation center, and a shared community cyber-infrastructure. 

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2. Digital Reconnaissance and Performance Assessment of Rural Infrastructure for 2018 Natural Hazards

   https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0001460  

   Loken, Andrew; Wittich, Christine E.; Brito, Lianne; Saifullah, M. Khalid (August 2020, Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities)

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3. Modeling Regional and Local Resilience of Infrastructure Networks Following Disruptions from Natural Hazards

   https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)is.1943-555x.0000694  

   Sanderson, Dylan; Cox, Daniel; Barbosa, Andre R; Bolte, John (September 2022, Journal of Infrastructure Systems)

   This paper presents a framework to evaluate the regional and local resilience of infrastructure networks following disruptions from natural hazards. Herein, the regional resilience of a network relates to the accessibility of a community within a larger network, whereas the local resilience concerns the ability of a network to provide its intended service within the boundaries of a community. Using this framework, a methodology is developed to demonstrate its application to a road and highway transportation network disrupted by ground shaking and inundation under a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami scenario. The regional network extents encompass the entire coast of the US state of Oregon. Embedded within this regional network are 18 local networks associated with coastal communities. Regional and local connectivity indexes are defined to identify the initial damage and then track the postdisaster recovery of the transportation network, i.e., evaluate the network resilience. The study results identify the attributes that lead to a regionally or locally resilient network and highlight the importance of considering local infrastructure networks embedded within larger regional networks. It is shown that without regional considerations, the time to recover may be severely underpredicted. The methodology is further used as a decision support tool to demonstrate how mitigation options impact the transportation network’s resilience. The importance of strategically considering mitigation options is emphasized as some communities see significant reductions in time to recover, whereas others see little to no improvement. 

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4. A Framework for Convergence Research in the Hazards and Disaster Field: The Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure CONVERGE Facility

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2020.00110  

   Peek, Lori; Tobin, Jennifer; Adams, Rachel M.; Wu, Haorui; Mathews, Mason Clay (July 2020, Frontiers in Built Environment)
5. 2022 Natural Hazards Research Summit

   https://doi.org/10.17603/ds2-8ty8-d985  

   Bridge, Jennifer; Cox, Daniel; Ramirez, Julio; Thornhill, Jennifer (January 2023, Designsafe-CI)

   The 2022 Natural Hazards Research Summit drew researchers, practitioners, and federal agency representatives together to reflect on the accomplishments achieved by the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) community and to chart the path for the next decade of impactful natural hazards research. Convened in October, 2022 in Washington, D.C. with support from the National Science Foundation, the specific goals of the two-day Summit were to: (i) discuss and elucidate the research needs for the next 10 years, (ii) foster connections between the broader natural hazards community, and (iii) disseminate information on the resources and capabilities that NHERI offers to researchers focused on preventing natural hazards from becoming societal disasters. This report documents the findings and recommendations from the panel, town hall sessions, and visioning activities that took place at the Summit. The intended audience for the report is the natural hazards research community and the funding agencies that support its research. Accordingly, the report includes a research agenda developed with input from the Summit participants. 

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