NSF Org: |
CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems |
Recipient: |
|
Initial Amendment Date: | August 6, 2021 |
Latest Amendment Date: | August 6, 2021 |
Award Number: | 2125426 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Ralph Wachter
rwachter@nsf.gov (703)292-8950 CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems CSE Direct For Computer & Info Scie & Enginr |
Start Date: | October 1, 2021 |
End Date: | September 30, 2023 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $150,000.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $150,000.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
History of Investigator: |
|
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1350 BEARDSHEAR HALL AMES IA US 50011-2103 (515)294-5225 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
Primary Place of Performance: |
424 Town Engineering Building Ames IA US 50011-1066 |
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District: |
|
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
Parent UEI: |
|
NSF Program(s): | S&CC: Smart & Connected Commun |
Primary Program Source: |
|
Program Reference Code(s): |
|
Program Element Code(s): |
|
Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.070 |
ABSTRACT
Among the variety of efforts required to restore the functionality of civil infrastructure components (CICs) after natural disasters, rapid damage assessment is a critical task that helps residents, business owners, and emergency management authorities evaluate the extent of loss, and subsequently, secure the resources necessary for recovery at the earliest possible time. In reality, however, immediate access to enough professional crews trained for the inspection and condition assessment of CICs is not always possible, especially after a natural disaster that impacts a large geographic region. Consequently, the post-disaster safety and condition assessment of a vast number of buildings and other critical facilities can take several weeks to months, not only delaying the restoration of the community, but also incurring significant indirect losses due to disruptions in everyday activities. To address this critical issue, the proposed research plans to introduce a data-informed platform to systematically utilize the hidden capacity of the general public for the rapid damage assessment of CICs.
The overarching goal of the proposed research activities is to engage those who have traditionally had no direct contribution to the safety and condition assessment of damaged CICs. For this purpose, the requirements necessary to establish a rigorous computational platform to evaluate human performance in the context of CIC damage assessment will be studied. Building on the capabilities of such a platform, investigations will also be performed to understand the technical and societal aspects of experiential learning methodologies appropriate for training the general public to perform rapid damage assessment activities. To ensure that a high-fidelity platform is delivered, the outcome of the individual tasks, as well as the entire platform, will be systematically verified and validated. Specifically, an array of community-of-practice activities have been planned to scale up the investigations and engage a diverse group of non-expert citizens. By creating a unique multidisciplinary opportunity to test the related hypotheses from both technical and social science perspectives, the outcome is expected to greatly facilitate mitigating the consequences of natural disasters, especially in vulnerable communities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Note:
When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This planning grant was able to cultivate the capacity essential for future high-impact research through a pilot study in Iowa. The research delved into the technical and social aspects influencing the contribution of non-expert citizens to the post-disaster damage assessment of Civil Infrastructure Components (CICs). This involved acquiring fundamental knowledge to establish a robust hierarchical computational platform, supported by technology-enabled educational opportunities. Specifically, fully immersive virtual reality (VR) simulation environments was created to evaluate the performance of non-expert citizens in representative damage assessment scenarios. The focus was then shifted to identifying and addressing the most common error contexts. Community-of-practice activities were implemented to scale up investigations and involve real-world, non-expert citizens. The outcome of this project is not only to prepare non-expert citizens for real-world damage assessment tasks (while prioritizing their safety) but also to provide high-quality feedback and data to responsible authorities for the rapid recovery and restoration of impacted communities.
This project provided valuable training and research experience to multiple graduate and undergraduate students. This project also provided an opportunity for the graduate students involved to receive training in a highly interdisciplinary research team and clearly see the lineage of their research and its impact on society’s well-being.
Last Modified: 01/31/2024
Modified by: Behrouz Shafei
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.