Part-time Geotechnical Research Faculty

Overview

To support risk mitigation from future hazards and conditions, the PREP research faculty will work with
NIST personnel in the Engineering Laboratory to conduct cutting-edge research to inform geotechnical
considerations in design standards. The work will focus on the geohazard of scour and erosion to
develop a work plan and a framework to develop performance indicators (fragilities) in a lifeline system
and assets The position will be fully remote for an anticipated duration of 18 months (November 2027 to
April 2028) and approximate workload of 5 hours per week. . Tasks will include:

• literature review for scour-induced behavior from scour and erosion
• Surveying questionnaire to collect stakeholder feedback and methodologies
• Work plan to collect data for scour and erosion from floods, including a stakeholder survey.
• Developing a numerical framework to generate geotechnical performance indicators for typologies of the lifeline system as function of scour depth, flow velocity, and soil erosion characteristics.
• Presenting results at internal and occasional external meetings and participating in preparation of a special publication to document findings and potential for incorporation in geotechnical standards.

Qualifications

• A doctoral degree in Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, or Geology, with specialization in geotechnical engineering, or a related field.
• Preference for relevant research experience as principal investigator and for industry experience.
• Familiarity with geotechnical engineering codes, standards, and guidelines.
• Ability to lead multidisciplinary research on geotechnical engineering.
• Demonstrated ability to translate research into publications and disseminated products.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.

Research Proposal

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Reviewing scour/erosion literature and identifying a lifeline system with available evaluations of scour and erosion performance for established national typologies for these assets.
• Developing a work plan to collect data, including a surveying document
• Generating a database for a selected large region (e.g., a state) and synthesizing a pilot study for a numerical regional framework to be assessed against acquired field data.
• Exploring analytical means and methods suitable to produce fragilities, including computational capacity, input and uncertainties, and recommending the preferred approach for the pilot framework.
• Developing a generalizable framework based on the regional framework to generate geotechnical fragilities applicable to the typologies in the system, transferable to stakeholders across the nation
• Presenting results at internal meetings, and occasional meetings with external stakeholders.
• Ensuring that results, protocols, software, and documentation have been archived or otherwise transmitted to the larger organization.