Epscor research fellows: NSF: advancing soil liquefaction assessment by reconciling pore pressure migration across multiple scales

The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded Montana State University $299,827 under the EPSCOR Research Fellows program on January 1, 2027, to advance soil liquefaction assessment through multi-scale experimental investigation of pore pressure migration.

The project provides a fellowship to an assistant professor and graduate student training at Montana State University in collaboration with Professor Katerina Ziotopoulou at the University of California, Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling. The work combines geotechnical earthquake engineering, physical modeling, and experimental mechanics to improve understanding of earthquake-induced soil liquefaction and develop more reliable seismic hazard evaluation approaches. Current laboratory methods do not fully represent field-scale soil behavior because they do not explicitly account for pore pressure migration. The research team will conduct instrumented centrifuge experiments at the UC Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling to quantify pore pressure evolution, cyclic deformation, and soil response under realistic earthquake loading conditions, then integrate experimental observations with laboratory measurements to develop predictive relationships linking laboratory and deposit-scale liquefaction behavior. The work strengthens research infrastructure at Montana State University, establishes a centrifuge-informed geotechnical earthquake engineering research program, and contributes to STEM workforce development through graduate education and K–12 outreach.

Period of performance runs from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2028. Place of performance is Davis, California.

Abstract

This research infrastructure improvement (RII) epscor research fellows project provides a fellowship to an assistant professor and training for a graduate student at montana state university. This work is conducted in collaboration with professor katerina ziotopoulou at the university of california, davis center for geotechnical modeling. Earthquake-induced soil liquefaction can cause severe ground deformation that damages buildings, bridges, roads, and other critical infrastructure. Through the fellowship, the project will combine geotechnical earthquake engineering, physical modeling, and experimental mechanics to improve understanding of liquefaction and develop more reliable approaches for evaluating seismic hazards. The fellowship will strengthen research infrastructure at montana state university, establish a centrifuge-informed geotechnical earthquake engineering research program, and contribute to stem workforce development through graduate education and k?12 outreach. Current laboratory methods for evaluating earthquake-induced soil liquefaction do not fully represent the behavior of field-scale soil deposits because they do not explicitly account for pore pressure migration. This project will establish a multi-scale experimental framework to investigate how pore pressure migration influences liquefaction initiation by integrating laboratory testing, hypergravity centrifuge experiments, and analytical modeling. The research team will conduct instrumented centrifuge experiments at the university of california, davis center for geotechnical modeling to quantify pore pressure evolution, cyclic deformation, and soil response under realistic earthquake loading conditions. Experimental observations will be integrated with laboratory measurements to develop predictive relationships linking laboratory and deposit-scale liquefaction behavior. The fellowship will expand the principal investigator's expertise in advanced centrifuge experimentation, strengthen seismic geotechnical engineering research infrastructure at montana state university, establish long-term collaboration with the NSF natural hazards engineering research infrastructure center for geotechnical modeling, and provide advanced training opportunities for graduate students, supporting future research in earthquake hazard assessment and infrastructure resilience. This project is supported by the epscor research infrastructure improvement program: epscor research fellows (ERF). The ERF program supports early- and mid-career investigators in eligible jurisdictions to develop collaborations at the nation?s private, government or academic research institutions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.