Structural & Earthquake Engineering Research
My research focuses on understanding how buildings respond to earthquakes and how engineering analysis, field observations, numerical simulation, and data-driven methods can be used to characterize structural vulnerability, improve seismic performance, and support more resilient communities.
Research Areas
My work spans structural and earthquake engineering, with particular emphasis on vulnerable building systems and communities exposed to significant seismic risk. It combines observed earthquake damage with analytical, computational, probabilistic, and data-driven approaches to better understand structural vulnerability and identify strategies for improving seismic performance.
Building Vulnerability & Fragility
Investigation of the seismic vulnerability of reinforced concrete and masonry buildings using post-earthquake observations and fragility relationships to quantify the probability of reaching different damage states as earthquake intensity increases.
Seismic Analysis & Retrofit
Numerical assessment of structural systems subjected to earthquake loading, with emphasis on understanding nonlinear response, identifying vulnerable components, and evaluating retrofit strategies for improving seismic performance.
Post-Earthquake Damage Assessment
Use of field observations and post-earthquake building damage data to investigate how structural characteristics, earthquake intensity, and other factors influence observed performance across building inventories.
Data-Driven Damage Modeling
Application of statistical and machine-learning methods alongside engineering knowledge to classify damage, investigate influential parameters, develop predictive models, and improve seismic vulnerability assessment.
Selected Peer-Reviewed Research
Fragility Curves and Machine Learning-Based Damage Classification Models from Strong Motion Data Measured During the 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake
Disaggregated Empirical Fragility Modeling and Bayesian Parameter Updating for Buildings in Haiti
A Numerical Study on the Seismic Retrofit of Haitian Reinforced Concrete Building Frames
Empirical Seismic Fragility Analysis of Reinforced Concrete and Masonry Buildings
From Earthquake Observations to Engineering Decisions
Across these research areas, the objective is to connect observed structural performance with engineering models that can support better assessment, retrofit, and risk-reduction decisions—particularly for vulnerable building inventories and communities exposed to earthquake hazards.