Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management
EN 3074
Dept. 3295
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307)766-2390
Email: cae.info@uwyo.edu
"Educating future engineers is an important job responsibility that I enjoy immensely. Investigating how engineers learn and develop in school and throughout their careers is an area for future research. I aspire to become an expert educator by questioning how engineering programs are structured, what can be improved, and how to prepare better engineers to solve the problems of the future. I am especially interested in working with students to develop engineers that are more cross-disciplinary in nature and can work effectively in teams where members have individual expertise in a specific area.” - Shawn Griffiths
Our current research focus is in site response analyses, which can be tied to seismic surface wave and
borehole testing. These methods are used to evaluate ground conditions and develop
models that help determine seismic loads for bridges, buildings and other engineered
structures. While these methods have been used successfully for many years, they continue
to grow in complexity and are continually updated with new/better data. Current research
efforts are focused on quantifying the uncertainty associated with the collection
and analyses of these methods and their models, with an emphasis in site response
analyses and surface wave measurements.
Site response analyses are computational tools that allow engineers to better estimate seismic forces at a particular location. The most common computational models in order of least-to-most complex include linear elastic, equivalent linear and fully nonlinear analyses, which can be performed in one, two and three dimensions. Current research concerning how to properly account for the uncertainties in these models in ongoing. Efforts to include measured uncertainty from surface wave data, as well as improve methods to account for large shear strain behavior are two areas of ongoing research.
Surface Wave and Borehole Testing
Surface wave and borehole testing techniques can provide information concerning groundwater
depth, soil layering, and stiffness. This information can be used for seismic site
response analyses, site classification, and void detection. We are looking forward
to expanding these test methods into Wyoming and the surrounding regions, especially
in areas with high seismic risk.
Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management
EN 3074
Dept. 3295
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307)766-2390
Email: cae.info@uwyo.edu
