Bilal M. Ayyub: Hazard-Resilient Infrastructure Including Network Topology and Underground Spaces

According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the world’s inhabitants with vast majority of property and wealth are concentrated in urban centers situated in locations already prone to major disasters, such as earthquakes and severe droughts, and along the flood-prone coastlines. This concentration of the world’s inhabitants in urban centers is expected to increase from 50% in 2012 to 66% in 2025. Civil infrastructure systems traditionally have been designed, constructed, operated and maintained for appropriate probabilities of functionality, durability and safety while exposed to extremes during their full-service lives. Examining systems in the context of resilience would add proper considerations for adaptability to changing conditions including recovery. This presentation introduces a methodology for the designing hazard-resilient infrastructure, and an ASCE manual of practice that provides guidance for and contribute to the development or enhancement of standards for hazard-resilient infrastructure. The framework provided in this manual emphasizes infrastructure systems, networks and how they support community resilience. The underlying approaches are based on using probabilistic methods for risk analysis and management to address uncertainties within a planning time horizon, and are illustrated using transportation networks including metro transit and railroad systems and underground spaces.

Bilal M. Ayyub is an A. James Clark School of Engineering Professor and the director of the University of Maryland Center for Technology and Systems Management. He has expertise in the areas of risk, uncertainty and decision analysis and risk management including finance. He has completed research projects and studies for NSF, DOD, DOT, DHS, and several engineering companies. As a distinguished member of the ASCE, an honorary member of ASME, and a fellow of SNAME, SEI and SRA, he has served the engineering community in various leadership capacities. Among the 650 publications co-authored are more than 20 books, including several textbooks adopted for courses at universities internationally. He is the recipient of several research awards and prizes, and consulted to national and international organizations on infrastructure and defense systems on risk, microeconomic and financial modeling. He has served on the board of several research and development companies.