24 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic flooding in Louisiana, killing more than 1,800 people and leading to $108 billion in property damage, including the destruction of fiber-optic cables and microwave antennas essential for transmitting and receiving signals for cellular, radio and television broadcasts. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast, killing more than 70 people and damaging more than 850 power transmission structures and more than 745 miles of transmission and distribution conductors. More than 200,000 people, including many in the Houston area, were without power for days. In 2018, a massive wildfire in northern California, ignited by a fault in a power line and fueled by strong winds, burned through more than 153,000 acres, destroyed 18,804 buildings and killed 85 people. The Camp Fire was California’s deadliest wildfire to date. What these disasters have in common is that they force a closer examination of the resilience of the country’s infrastructure and utility systems. As such disasters become more frequent, they raise questions about what can be done to ensure communities can withstand catastrophes and quickly rebuild. Catastrophe modeling and resilience, the focus of Lehigh’s first University Research Center—announced earlier this year as part of Lehigh’s strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers—attempts to assess the risk of these kinds of events and plan for them. The Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience, led by Paolo Bocchini, professor of civil and environmental engineering, brings together a team of faculty from across disciplines, leveraging a wealth of experience and expertise in their respective fields, who attempt to predict catastrophes and assess their associated risks. Lehigh has had teams of researchers studying disaster resilience for years. Over time, they have developed relationships with collaborators in government, industry and academia and secured funding for a variety of projects. “We at Lehigh created an area of strength in community and infrastructure resilience,” Bocchini said. “We started about 15 years ago to work on this. We have reached critical mass, and I think we’ve established ourselves as relevant players in the field.” Lehigh’s leaders hope the University Research Center designation and investment will help Bocchini and his team secure more research funding to expand efforts and crystallize Lehigh’s status as a leader in the field of catastrophe modeling and resilience. “The goal of these centers is to achieve national and international prominence in a specific area of work so that when people who are interested in a particular topic ask, ‘Where is the best or most interesting research being done on the issue?’ Lehigh comes to mind as a great place where that work is being done,” said Dominic Packer, associate vice provost for research. The Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience will also help advance Lehigh’s goal of doubling its research over the next 10 years. Being named a University Research Center means that the Lehigh faculty involved will invest at least 50% of their research efforts there, Packer said. For some faculty, all of their research could revolve around the center. The backing also will make Lehigh’s researchers more competitive with other institutions vying for large-scale funding. Such grants often require interdisciplinarity with a strong sense of institutional commitment, Packer said. Several projects have already been carried out or are underway. Research led by Bocchini explores wildfire risk assessment. Under strong wind and dry weather, California power companies can enact public safety power shutoffs, but the shutoffs cause blackouts affecting millions of people. Bocchini’s team has explored ignition probability, which is increased when conductor cables oscillate in such a way that they encroach on surrounding vegetation. Bocchini’s research pro- “The goal of these centers is to achieve national and international prominence in a specific area of work so that when people [...] ask, ‘Where is the best or most interesting research being done on the issue?’ Lehigh comes to mind as a great place where that work is being done.” —DOMINIC PACKER, associate vice provost for research
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