Professor T.D. O'Rourke
Thomas R. Briggs Professor of Engineering, Cornell University
Abstract:
Hurricane Katrina
was one of the greatest natural disasters of modern times. It literally
changed U.S. policy from a post 911 focus on defense of critical
infrastructure to the development of resilient communities. Professor
O’Rourke will explore the concept of resilience in terms of civil
infrastructure and its dependence on the geosystems that surround and
underpin the City of New Orleans. He will discuss the dynamics of the
Mississippi River, loss of wetlands, and increasing exposure to storm
surge and river flooding that have influenced planning and politics for
over two centuries in the Louisiana delta. He will describe the levee
system that was constructed to protect New Orleans and the geotechnical
conditions that affected its performance during Hurricane Katrina. He
will discuss the technical reasons for failure of the levee system,
including the mechanisms of failure where breaches occurred and the
foundation characteristics and soil properties influencing failure. He
will discuss the consequences of failure, with select descriptions of
its influence on the energy infrastructure of New Orleans and Gulf of
Mexico. He will describe current and planned improvements in the levee
system, and will discuss prospects for the future.
Professor O’Rourke is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He serves on the U.S. National Academies Committee on New Orleans Regional Hurricane Protection Projects, which was commissioned to review the investigations of the US Corps of Engineers and their future plans for levee improvements. He authored or co-authored over 300 technical publications, and has received numerous awards from professional and academic organizations. His research interests cover geotechnical engineering, earthquake engineering, underground construction technologies, engineering for large, geographically distributed systems, and geographic information technologies and database management.
abstract (pdf)
2008 Run
Nov 19th - Dec 22nd
