Eric Williamson receives grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Keeping Our Structures Standing and Our People Alive: The Next 25 Years

Sponsor: Department of Homeland Security, Science & Technology

This DHS-funded project focuses on the progressive collapse resistance of steel structures. The primary objective is to characterize the contribution of floor systems in mitigating collapse, which is an area of research yet to be addressed. What is unique about the project is that it involves large-scale testing of 3-D structures.

The project comprises a research team with expertise in the behavior of steel structures, structural diagnostics and multi-hazard assessment and protective design. Other contributors to the project are Walter P. Moore & Associates, Protection Engineering Consultants and Imperial College London.

The aim of the (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate is to fund research designed at augmenting and complementing the depth and breadth of homeland security concerns through international research collaboration that will contribute to the evaluation of novel tools and approaches to confronting homeland security challenges.