This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.
Description of Work:A research scientist is sought to support a project on life-cycle assessment and uncertainty quantification for forward-looking building design. Functional recovery design has emerged as a new design approach that aims to expedite building recovery and enhance community resilience to natural disasters. To harness its benefits, it is crucial to understand the long-term implications of this design approach. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method commonly employed to evaluate the lifelong impacts of a building. However, the impact of post-disaster repairs is not well integrated into building LCA practices. The lack of standardized methodologies and guidelines for incorporating seismic risk into LCA may hinder the ability of designers, owners, and policymakers to make informed decisions about building design. In addition, current building codes and standards are often inadequate for protecting assets against the changing frequency and severity of natural hazards. To address this, new standards (such as ASCE 7-28) are introducing chapters to account for projected changes in hazards like wind, tornadoes, and floods. However, these future conditions introduce significant aleatory and epistemic uncertainties that challenge traditional engineering design.
The research scientist will evaluate the impact of changing hazard conditions on design requirements and analyze the uncertainty of structural designs to prevent either overly conservative or underly cautious outcomes. This work will advance understanding of uncertainties in designing and retrofitting buildings, ultimately supporting the adoption of forward-looking building standards in the context of deep uncertainty. Additionally, the researcher will work to evaluate design trade-offs across the entire building life cycle. By quantifying how enhanced design reduces future damage, repair costs, and demolition impacts, this work will provide evidence for multi-objective performance targets in future building standards.
Key Responsibilities: - Integrate natural hazard impacts, especially seismic risks, into the LCA framework for a comprehensive evaluation of building performance.
- Perform life cycle assessments (LCA) for reinforced concrete moment frame and shear wall buildings to demonstrate the impact of functional recovery design.
- Conduct a detailed review of methodologies, assumptions, and datasets referenced in building codes, standards, and provisions, specifically regarding hazard loads such as wind, flood, and snow.
- Quantify uncertainties related to future hazard changes in structural design requirements using the non-stationary reliability method to calibrate load and resistance factors.
- Apply performance-based assessment methodologies to conduct in-depth uncertainty analysis for buildings with high-performance requirements, such as hospitals.
- Review literature on reliability models for evaluating structural failure under hazard loads and draft content for publication.
- Document findings and collaborate with colleagues at NIST to publish research findings and results into NIST Technical reports and high-impact journal articles.
Qualifications: - U.S. Citizen.
- A Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (focus on Structural Engineering preferred).
- Extensive experience in building life cycle analysis (LCA) and quantifying the impacts of building construction and repair.
- Strong background in economics, structural engineering, risk assessment for various hazards, and performance-based earthquake engineering.
- Demonstrated expertise in benefit-cost analysis and uncertainty quantification (UQ).
- Excellent record of research and technical writing for both academic and practitioner audiences.
- Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a multi-disciplinary, collaborative team to meet project milestones.
