Multidisciplinary researchers tackle civil infrastructure issues from the state to global level in the Center for Infrastructure Renewal.
Paving the way for safe, innovative bridges
Prestressed concrete bridge research is helping to further the potential for precast, prestressed concrete bridge systems, which allow bridge components to be fabricated off-site and then constructed on-site. This ensures that the bridges are not only built more quickly, but with greater efficiency and higher quality. The method is also cost-effective for taxpayers.
Enhancing campus navigation with self-driving shuttles
A new initiative in this project is to study passengers’ emotions while in the vehicle, a project Dr. Srikanth Saripalli is working on with Dr. James E. Hubbard Jr. from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The goal is to monitor a passenger’s stress levels by reading brainwaves and determining how best to communicate in order to help them feel more at ease.
Ensuring stockpile reliability
Keeping weapons functional is imperative to the U.S. goals of nuclear deterrence. Researchers are using predictive computational modeling to calculate the effects of time on nuclear weapons and their probabilities of success as they age.
Unearthing new oil recovery methods
One Texas A&M team’s research has the potential to enable operators of thousands of existing fractured horizontal wells to increase oil production.
Measuring water movement in soil from space
Understanding water movement in soil is critical for many earth science studies on a local to global scale. Dr. Binayak Mohanty and his Vadose Zone Research Group are leading efforts to describe root zone soil water flow mechanisms.
Linking gut microbiota to liver disease
Researchers with Texas A&M and Tufts University have found a high-fat diet significantly changes the composition and function of a person’s intestinal microbiota. They are examining ways to help control fatty liver disease.