Resilient Infrastructure: Design Strategies for Extreme Events

Course Description

When critical infrastructure fails during disasters, the true cost is measured not just in dollars, but in lives and community disruption. Hospitals may stand but lose power within hours. Data centers can remain structurally sound yet collapse operationally when cooling fails. This course reframes resilience as a cross-disciplinary responsibility that extends beyond code compliance. Through lessons spanning civil, mechanical, and electrical systems, engineers will learn to evaluate cascading risks, apply performance-based methods, and design for recovery, not just survival. Case studies, modeling examples, and interactive scenarios equip participants to advocate for resilient solutions that safeguard public trust and community continuity.

Learning Objectives

1. Evaluate resilience strategies across civil, mechanical, and electrical systems to anticipate cascading failures and support design decisions that protect public safety and maintain community function.

2. Apply performance-based methods and risk-informed engineering practices to create infrastructure that remains operational during extreme events and changing hazard conditions.

3. Implement cross-disciplinary coordination practices that integrate technical requirements with ethical responsibilities and stakeholder needs to strengthen reliability and trust.

4. Assess cost, operability, and recovery trade-offs to design resilient infrastructure solutions that balance technical feasibility with long-term community benefit.