Civil and Systems Engineering Seminar Series: Jessica Boakye

Description

Jessica Boakye, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will give a talk titled "Moving from Engineering to Societal Metrics: Modeling the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure Disruption" for the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering.

Abstract:

Traditional engineering metrics focus on the performance of infrastructure while neglecting the societal implications of failure, disruption, or deterioration. This disconnect impedes mitigation. Successful mitigation relies on an accurate prediction or model of the relevant impact. To overcome this gap, this talk introduces methods for modeling and assessing the societal impacts of transportation infrastructure failure. Two different scenarios are considered: hazard and non-hazard. Network simulation, risk analysis, and digital twinning methods are used to model the transportation infrastructure and surrounding community. The hazard scenario examines small scale infrastructure failure (i.e., culverts) during flooding events. The impact on hospital connectivity in a rural community is examined. The non-hazard scenario examines pavement condition and its effect on work travel. Both case studies are developed using real Massachusetts communities and infrastructure to demonstrate applicability. Methods are presented which allow for the identification of vulnerable populations, an assessment of the disproportionate impact, and mitigation suggestions.