A time to eat, drink & talk about science!

Celebrating 4 Years of Science on Tap!

Join us 

Science on Tap Series

Thursday, December 3, 2015

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Yanni's
will be offering Happy Hour Appetizers during SoT!
 
3109 Central Avenue NE

(505) 268-9250

http://www.yannisandlemoni.com/

What could possibly go wrong? Infrastructure failures, lessons from the past, and possible ways to design sustainable and resilient systems of the future.

Andrea Mammoli, PhD
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
 University of New Mexico

In 2003, overgrown branches touched transmission lines in Ohio, and triggered a blackout that left 55 million people in the US and Canada without power for days. What could have been a small and manageable event cascaded to such a large scale because of a series of interconnected  failures in physical, controls, communications and human systems. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina left 1836 people dead, due to a combination of lack of electricity, running water, sewage and transportation. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused widespread damage to the East Coast of the United States, leaving 7.5 million people without power, and almost caused the food supply chain to break down.

As infrastructures become more and more interconnected, we may be inadvertently setting ourselves up for disruption on an unprecedented scale. What if the power grid were to go down for weeks? What would life be like in Phoenix in the summer, or in New England in the winter?

What lessons have we learned from past failures, and what can be done to reduce the risk of catastrophic large scale events, caused by increasingly extreme weather, or by malicious man-made attacks? Can we design infrastructure that is more resilient, and at the same time more sustainable?

How can science and engineering help?

Don't forget to use your postcard from last month to BOGO an admission at both Explora and the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History!