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William Roser, a doctoral student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was recently awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program award. Through a competitive process, GRFP awards fellows a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 plus $12,000 toward the cost of the institution’s tuition allowance, tuition waivers, opportunities for research and professional development, and the ability to conduct their own research anywhere. The high school of their choice.
“I’m still in shock,” Rosser said of receiving the award. “It means a lot to have an outside indication that your research is valuable to the community and will benefit the community. Getting the GRFP is a good vote of confidence because you are facing thousands of applicants who have all been fantastic.”
While Rosser may be shocked by his winning of the award, his mentor Professor Kerry Ryan was not surprised. “He is among the most talented and diligent students I have worked with, and the award is truly well deserved,” Ryan said. William has demonstrated a remarkable ability to take and work with some high-level detail to develop a comprehensive and compelling research plan. I’m sure the reviewers recognized that, and it was an important factor in choosing it. I would like to commend the graduate school’s support services—GRFP workshops and editorial review services—to help students across campus upgrade their applications.”
Working with Ryan, Roser’s research focuses on the performance of buildings’ non-structural elements – non-bearing elements, such as stairs – during seismic activities. Often, after earthquakes, the building is standing, but some non-structural elements may be so compromised that the building needs to be demolished anyway.
Ryan explained, “William’s research scope includes simulating, testing, and validating the connection details of non-structural components subjected to seismic loading. These are non-bearing systems that serve other functions in a building and have to go all the way down; they have received little attention compared to structural systems.”
Ultimately, improving the performance of these non-structural elements will not only make buildings safer but also make buildings more environmentally friendly by reducing the need to use new materials and resources after an earthquake.
Roser places a high value on the ability of engineers to make an environmental impact. In addition to the GRFP award, Roser is one of the inaugural Fellows in the Graduate Assistance Doctoral Program in Areas of National Need (GAANN), sponsored by the Department of Education. The program supports graduate student research focused on areas of need at the national level. Specifically, the university’s program, which Ryan directs, has set the theme of “Rebuilding the Nation’s Infrastructure for Resilience in the Face of Extreme Events.”
“We need to get rid of our culture of getting rid of things,” Roser said. The use of building materials and unsustainable methods require massive carbon production. We can support our goal of reducing waste by designing buildings that can move with earthquakes.”
For Roser, one of the keys to his research and ability to reduce the negative environmental impact of building new structures is the material he studies. Instead of concrete and steel, researchers are looking for ways to increase the flexibility of large structures made of wood.
“Wood is an attractive and sustainable material, because it grows on trees,” Roser said. “We hope to find ways to make wooden buildings taller by creating ‘vibrating walls’ that allow buildings to move more during earthquakes.”
As an extension of the idea of bending without breaking, “vibrating walls” that enable buildings to move while still being safe will reduce the likelihood of a building being demolished after seismic activity.
“The details considered in this project – which will be validated in a 10-story building vibration test – are state-of-the-art,” concluded Ryan.
Learn more about the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) and Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) PhD program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
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