Professor Tom O'Rourke, Thomas R. Briggs Professor of Engineering, Cornell University, joins us from Cornell for a special guest lecture. Critical infrastructure is discussed with respect to lessons learned from the effects of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami and Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. The impact of the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence on the underground infrastructure in Christchurch, NZ is explored with the use of an extraordinary GIS and high resolution LiDAR data set to evaluate the regional characteristics of liquefaction-induced ground deformation and its effects on water, wastewater, and gas distribution systems. Recent advances in designing and testing a new generation of hazard-resilient pipelines are described. Recent advances in developing multi-hazard resilient communities are discussed.
