RHIMAL Director

Dr. Ou’s research is inspired by community-centered informed hazard-oriented decision-making, which lead to the development of high fidelity and computationally efficient regional-scale simulation platform. Her research experience includes physical and surrogate modeling of complex civil infrastructure systems, machine learning, information theory, advanced experimental testing, model updating, and the integration of data analytics with physical-based modeling.

Education:

Ph.D., Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 2010-2016

Dissertation: Robust Real-Time Hybrid Simulation Techniques Incorporating Model Updating

Advisor: Prof. Shirley J. Dyke

B.E., Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, 2005-2010

B.S., Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Harbin Institute of Technology, 2005-2010

Current Ph.D. Student

Xiao Zhu received his Civil Engineering B.E. degree from Central South University (CSU) in Changsha, China, and worked as a structural engineer in China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co., Ltd (MEBC) Wuhan, China, after graduating. Then, Xiao received his M.S. from Columbia University in the U.S.
Xiao has a solid industrial steel structure design and analysis background. His research interests include nonlinear structural dynamic analysis using finite element and machine learning models, structural reliability analysis, and atmospheric dynamics. He is currently working on power network infrastructure reliability analysis under hurricane events and interpreting how the infrastructure’s performance impacts the power network’s resilience on the regional scale.

Current Ph.D. Student

Amirhossein (Amir) received his M.Sc. degree in structural engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). His background is related to seismic risk assessment and how the incidence of aftershocks can affect the overall collapse risk of structures, reliability methods, and finite element modeling of steel structures. Currently, he is working on the informative selection of buildings on the regional scale, considering the resource constraints in post-earthquake reconnaissance efforts.

Former Ph.D. Student

Jiayue Xue is a former RHIMAL Ph.D. student. She obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Utah in 2021. She is now working for Stantec, Inc. with a focus on transmission tower design.

Dissertation: NUMERICAL- AND DATA-BASED APPROACH TO ESTIMATE POWER INFRASTRUCTURE FAILURE DURING A HURRICANE AND ITS IMPACT ON POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

Former Ph.D. Student

PhD in Structural Engineering with a minor in Data Science. Studied the implementation of active learning in Gaussian process inference for applications in natural hazards engineering and community resilience.

Mohamadreza Sheibani is a former RHIMAL Ph.D. student. He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Utah in 2021. He is now working for One Concern on hazard impact model validation.

Dissertation: DATA-DRIVEN BUILDING DAMAGE SURROGATE MODELLING FOR EFFECTIVE REGIONAL POST-EARTHQUAKE LOSS ASSESSMENT

Former Ph.D. Student

Zhongming Xiang is a former RHIMAL Ph.D. student. He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Utah in 2021. He is now working for Stantec, Inc. with a focus on power system inspection and maintenance.

Dissertation:  GROUND PENETRATING RADAR BASED BIM DEVELOPMENT WITH REINFORCEMENT BAR IDENTIFICATION FOR IN SERVICE BUILDINGS