TIER 1 UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTER (UTC) Sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology in the U.S. Department of Transportation
INSPECTING AND PRESERVING INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH ROBOTIC EXPLORATION VOL. 7 | ISSUE 2 | FALL 2023 INSPIRE-UTC Biannual Publication
In this issue: Director's Message News Research Article Outreach Activity Upcoming Events Awarded in December of 2016 by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the five-year INSPIRE UTC is a Tier 1 University Transportation Center with a research priority of preserving the existing transportation system as part of the UTC Program (https://www. transportation.gov/utc/2016-utc-grantees) that was authorized under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.
CONSORTIUM MEMBERS
Director’s Message Greetings to our esteemed colleagues and friends! I am delighted to share the latest edition of our newsletter, brimming with noteworthy accomplishments and leaderships from the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure (CII) – a Missouri S&T university research center that administers the INSPIRE UTC. To start with, Dr. Anil Agrawal from the City College of New York, a fellow INSPIRE UTC investigator, was recently elected to be one of the 2023 top 10 distinguished professionals by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Back home at Missouri S&T, Dr. Grace Yan, a fellow CII member, was elected to chair the 15th Americas Conference on Wind Engineering to be held on May 23-25, 2025, in St. Louis, Missouri. This significant role reflects Dr. Yan's dedication, expertise, and leadership in the field of wind engineering. I am humbled to join this elite group to become one of the five inaugural Fellows in Taylor Geospatial Institute – an eight-institution consortium headquartered in St. Louis University. I was also honored to deliver the plenary keynote address at the prestigious 14th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (IWSHM), Stanford University, California. In this edition, we take pride in welcoming fresh faces to our vibrant community. Among them, a research engineer, a program/project coordinator, an undergraduate student, and a faculty member, Dr. Weibing Gong, have joined our ranks. This diverse expertise adds a dynamic layer to our collaborative environment, promising exciting prospects for future endeavors. Our upcoming INSPIRE webinar features Missouri S&T’s recent accomplishments on "Multidimensional Digital Twin in the Built Environment." Join us as we delve into the world of multifunctional modeling and its broader impacts on December 4, 2023. As we look to the future, CII is actively searching for talented individuals to fill two postdoctoral positions. This presents a unique opportunity for enthusiastic researchers to contribute to innovative projects within the fields of optical sensing, machine learning, and robotic engineering to foster research in our collaborative and innovative environment. Beyond our research endeavors, CII has actively engaged in various outreach programs, including a Mi STEM (Minority Introduction to STEM) initiative, an engaging engineering robotic summer camp, and an exciting aerospace summer camp. These initiatives align with our commitment to fostering interest and diversity in STEM fields. Thank you for your continued support as we celebrate these achievements and look forward to a future filled with exciting opportunities and advancements. Genda Chen, Ph.D., P.E., F. ASCE, F. SEI, F. ISHMII, F.SPIE, F. TGI Director, INSPIRE University Transportation Center Director, the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure