NSF proposes new infrastructure research unit Joseph Bordogna is an engineer whose eyes dance with visions of how terrific the U.S. would be if engineering and technology could but realize their full potential. As director of the National Science Foundation's engineering programs, Bordogna likes to tout engineering as the great synthesizer of scientific knowledge and human endeavor. Bordogna went to Capitol Hill late last month to make a pitch for one of his visions—a big government initiative he characterizes as the "intelligent renewal" of the country's civil infrastructure. This is the term that covers the $17 trillion worth of the U.S/s bridges, highways, railroad tracks, water supply and treatment systems, electrical wiring, optical cables, dams, pipelines, and other structural basics that the experts say are decaying at an alarming rate. His vision is based on a report just issued by the foundation, "Civil Infrastructure Systems Research: Strategic Issues." Bordogna thinks an annual figure of $100 million would be enough for NSF to sustain a vigorous research program in civil infrastructure. A significant amount of chemistry, especially materials chemistry, would be involved. Bordogna appeared before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, whose Subcommittee on Science, Technology & Space wanted a briefing on the plan. Also testifying for the effort was Stephen Borleske, advanced materials development manager for Du Pont. Chairing the hearing was Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D.-W.Va.). Infrastructure is one of the core areas in the Clinton Administration's stillstruggling technology policy. That policy, because of the glacial pace of Administration appointments plus budget wars in Congress, is only slowly getting off the ground. Indeed, a great deal of public works infrastructure was cut out of Clinton's economic stimulus package that was killed by the Senate earlier this spring. But Bordogna is looking beyond the current stasis. Renewal, he believes, just has to get done sooner or later, and will involve several agencies, local and state institutions, the private sector, and hundreds of billions of dollars in private and public investment. Research, he says, can help cut these costs. The process will involve application of
fascinating new ideas in the chemistry of materials and other technical areas. Funding for the governmentwide basic civil engineering research enterprise currently runs about $65 million. NSF's portion of that, including its substantial earthquake engineering research program, is $36 million. Total federal basic and applied research in infrastructure comes to about $1.3 billion, according to Harvey M. Bernstein, president of the Civil Engineering Research Foundation, Washington, D.C. The agencies involved include the Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Defense, and National Institute of Standards & Technology. As Bordogna puts it, the proposed new program is a "bold new strategy that focuses on the optimal performance of systems rather than their individual components." It is bold because it tries harder than ever to bring different disciplines to bear on problems. His action plan consists of establishing an interagency Infrastructure Research Unit that would coordinate the research activities of the various divisions within NSF and several universitybased centers of research in the field. The infrastructure consists not only of physical entities but also, according to Bordogna, of "hundreds of large, intricate engineering, political, and economic systems that interact in complex ways." There's nothing new about the institutional intricacy of applying engineering to
Bordogna: a bold new strategy
problem-solving. Everyone who prepares, reads, and deals with environmental impact statements knows how many "stakeholders" are affected by engineering decisions. What is new are the advances in systems thinking, environmental awareness, and "smart materials" that promise to revolutionize the application of engineering to infrastructure projects. The NSF programs will stress three areas that are needed to bring this new science of infrastructure to maturity, according to Bordogna. The first is development of "deterioration science." "Most construction materials," he says, "are dynamic and have properties that continually evolve over time." To understand how to develop structures that are safe and durable will require research in materials science, chemistry, mechanics, failure processes, risk, and reliability. The second strategic area, as Bordogna terms it, is "assessment technologies." Current methods of assessing the health of a structure are outmoded. Research here will involve nondestructive (or instrumental) evaluation of structures and systems, sensor technologies, measuring performances under different types of physical stress, and better methods of risk assessment. The third area is "renewal engineering," or research on renewing, modifying, and upgrading constructed facilities. Bordogna says that "a research method is needed to bring together cross-cutting technologies to develop innovative approaches involving materials, new designs, robotics, innovative equipment, and human factors." Bordogna thinks the program is special because of the money it will save in future construction projects. For example, much still needs to be learned about concrete, a very basic construction mate rial. Research on bonding between concrete and its reinforcing agents at the University of Kansas, he says, has the potential of saving $100 million by developing techniques that reduce the amount of reinforcement needed for structural strength. The new program will examine why new knowledge in each area has problems being mutually transferred, Bordogna says. It will "address the fragmented nature of the infrastructure industry and identify public policy issues and those legal and financial constraints that impede progress." Wil Lepkowski JUNE 7,1993 C&EN
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