Search for: All records

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. 

This is the third edition of the NSF Science Plan for the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI). It was developed to focus natural hazards research on some of the major challenges communities face as they work to enhance their resilience to natural hazard events. It provides information for researchers, funding agencies, practitioners, students, and the public on the critical research needs and the process of conducting multi-hazard research to advance hazards engineering practice and community resilience. The Science Plan provides Grand Challenges and Key Research Questions. 

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. 

This is the second edition of the five-year Science Plan for the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI). It provides information for constituents, including practitioners, as well as guidance for members of the research community.This report is an overview of the research needed to support the Grand Challenges described by the report. It covers both the scope and the process of conducting multi-hazard research for improving civil infrastructure. 

The NHERI Five-Year Science Plan is posed as a set of three Grand Challenges with five Key Research Questions to guide NHERI research. The research will deliver technical breakthroughs to improve the resilience and sustainability of existing and future civil infrastructure, also known as the built environment. High priority research subject areas are also provided for each of the key research questions to assist future researchers in achieving Grand Challenges.