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Torrens receives NSF grant for resilient infrastructure research

Improved understanding of the ways that the movements of people interact with transportation and communications infrastructure could help with disaster planning

MPRC faculty associate Paul Torrens is one of more than fifty researchers at sixteen institutions who have been awarded research grants from the National Science Foundation to undertake new projects in the area of Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Processes and Systems (RIPS) over the next three years. The goal of RIP research is to investigate innovative ways to bolster the resilience of the electrical grid, water systems, and other lifelines and services in the event of a crisis or natural disaster.

Paul Torrens and Vanessa Frias-Martinez, both faculty at the University of Maryland, will take an interdisciplinary approach to the problem, using advanced computer modeling techniques examine how the movements of people interact with transportation and communications infrastructure. For example, a delayed start to the workday because of winter weather can push the peak commuting time off-rhythm, delay citywide delivery systems, or produce bursts in communication activity. Understanding how these dynamics arise and spread through increasingly connected systems is critical in order to mitigate the effects. Torrens and Frias-Martinez plan to produce a set of reusable data and model outputs that will be available via community Web portal, a set of code libraries for use in allied model systems, and a pilot demonstration for winter weather scenarios in Washington DC.

Read the story on infozine.com

Read the NSF award abstract