Dr. Troy Morgan is a recognized expert in the field of seismic isolation and passive energy dissipation systems, and specializes in performance of structures under extreme loading such as earthquakes, wind, flood, and explosions. He has performed extensive research on the numerical simulation and experimental behavior of innovative seismic protective devices and optimization of their use within performance-based engineering frameworks. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Morgan was Assistant Professor at the Center for Urban Earthquake Engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan. He has taught courses at the University of California, Berkeley, and San Francisco State University. He has also held positions as a post-doctoral researcher at the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center and as a design engineer at Forell/Elsesser Engineers Inc. Dr. Morgan received his B.S., M.Eng., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley.
The modern era of civilization is marked by immense networks of complicated, interdependent systems and rapidly evolving technologies, including the world of civil infrastructure. Many of these technologies, while born from academia, are implemented and refined in the world of industry. As today’s complex ideas are put into practice, there is an increasing tendency for things to fail under extreme loading such as earthquakes, and an urgent desire to prevent such failures. This talk explores the field of seismic risk mitigation in practice, drawing on projects from structural engineering, including nuclear plant reliability analysis, urban post-earthquake reconnaissance, and insurance investigations related to alleged earthquake damage. Extensions of infrastructure risk assessment and mitigation frameworks outside earthquake engineering are presented and discussed.