EAGER: SSDIM: Data Simulation to Support Interdependence Modeling in Emergency Response and Multimodal Transportation Networks

University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR

Investigators

Abstract

Access to data on the design and operation of interdependent critical infrastructures (ICIs) is now recognized as essential for developing new data analytic, design and decision-support tools. This EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) project will create and make available synthetic and simulated data on ICIs by developing new data creation techniques and model-based approaches to simulating data on ICIs and human cognition and/or behavior with ICIs. It will provide research communities in broad areas, such as multimodal transportation, emergency services, wildfire and infectious disease, with tools for modeling complex ICIs involving human activities and decisions. Seminars on these tools will be offered to state and local transportation officials to assist these stakeholders in designing, analyzing and improving multimodal transportation systems against disruptions and failures. The new knowledge will be broadly disseminated through journals and conferences in the areas of infrastructure risk management, applied statistics, reliability engineering, and spatiotemporal computation. Moreover, the PIs with track records will promote interdisciplinary education, recruit underrepresented students for maintaining workforce diversity, and expose K-12 teachers and students to cutting-edge research experiences. This project investigates a methodology for topology and data generation for ICIs. The research will (1) create a two-layer framework that integrates heterogeneous data to model the complex topology of ICIs and vice versa; (2) simulate data for targeted ICIs and make the data publicly available for evaluating and improving the preparedness for emergency events; and (3) demonstrate the feasibility of using the framework and data to determine the viable options of emergency services for resilience improvement of ICIs. To ensure that the proposed two-layer framework is well rooted in engineering practice, the project will focus on three ICIs identified by the Department of Homeland Security, including inland waterways (ports, dams and locks along major waterways), ground transportation systems that are connected or close to the inland waterways, and emergency services.