Traffic incidents have significant negative impacts on the safety and efficiency of overall transportation system performance. The transportation community has consistently strive to improve the transportation incident management process. This project demonstrates the ability of the NYSDOT, GDIT and IIMS to improve traffic incident management.
At the 2023 Modeling and Simulation (MODSIM) World 2023 Conference in Norfolk, Virginia, ISTL Director Kevin Hulme, PhD, and his team of transportation engineering researchers presented their findings in the application of different video game engine simulations to enhance transportation research.
External Collaborators: Erie County (NY) Department of Environment and Planning, New York State Department of Health, Syracuse University, Ceres Nanosciences
All nuclear power plants are required to have a significant level of resistance to the effects of earthquake shaking, but the safety-grade nuclear equipment is generally large and routinely custom-made for each nuclear plant. Whittaker’s team will simplify plant design and standardize the equipment to drive down cost and speed construction.
External Collaborators: Yanlin Guo - Assistant Professor, Colorado State University, United States Department of Energy (DOE) Renewables Advancing Community Energy Resilience (RACER)
Lal, K. M., Whittaker, A. S., Vahdani, S., Kosbab, B. D., and Shirvan, K. (2025). "Seismically isolted nuclear power plants: Is soil-strucutre-interaction analysis needed?" Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, Vol. 54 (10), pp. 2601-2620. DOI: 10.1002/eqe.4373.
Mir, F. U. H., Yu, C. C., Talaat, M. M., Carmichael, B. M., Chisholm, B. M., and Whittaker, A. S. (2025). "Risk-informed, performance-based seismically design of a seismic isolation system for a nuclear power plant." Published online, Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, Vol. 54 (9), pp. 2231-2245. DOI: 10.1002/eqe.4359.
Parsi, S. S., and Whittaker, A. S. (2025). "Numerical simulations of rocking, keyed graphite blocks in the core of a high temperature gas reactor." Earthquake Engineering and Strcutural Dynamics, Vol. 54 (9), pp. 2212-2230. DOI: 10.1002/eqe.4354.
Mir, F. U. H., Tilow, K., Nguyen, N., Song, B., Clavelli, M., Kosbab, B. D., and Whittaker, A. S. (2023). “Earthquake response of head mounted equipment in advanced reactors.” Earthquake Spectra, Vol. 39 (4). DOI: 10.1177/87552930231189459.
Parsi, S. S., Sivaselvan, M. V., and Whittaker, A. S. (2023). “Impedance-matching model-in-the-loop simulation.” Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, Vol. 52 (12), pp. 3600-3621. DOI: 10.1002/eqe.3922.
Mir, F. U. H., Whittaker, A. S., Kosbab, B. D., and Nguyen, N. (2023). “Recommendations for seismic analysis of a fluoride-salt cooled high-temperature reactor.” Nuclear Engineering and Design. DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112504.
Lal, K. M., Whittaker, A. S., and Sivaselvan, M. V. (2023). “Mid-height seismic isolation of safety-class equipment in nuclear power plants: numerical simulations and design recommendations.” Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 408. DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112286.
Mir, F. U. H., Whittaker, A. S., Kosbab, B. D., and Nguyen, N. (2023). “Characterizing the seismic response of a molten salt nuclear reactor.” Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, Vol. 52 (7), pp. 2025-2046. DOI: 10.1002/eqe.3866.
Yu, C. C., Whittaker, A. S., Kosbab, B. D., and Tehrani, P. K. (2023). “Earthquake-induced impact of base-isolated buildings: theory, numerical modeling, and design solutions.” Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, Vol. 52 (5), pp. 1445-1462. DOI: 10.1002/eqe.3824.
Terranova, B. R., Schwer, L., and Whittaker, A. S. (2022). “Simulation of projectile impact on steel plate-lined, reinforced concrete panels using the smooth particle hydrodynamics formulation.” International Journal of Protective Structures, Vol. 13 (1), pp. 65-79. DOI: 10.1177/20414196211042036.
Parsi, S. S., Lal, K. M., Kosbab, B. D., Ingersoll, E., Shirvan, K., and Whittaker, A. S. (2022). “Seismic isolation: a pathway to standardized advanced nuclear reactors.” Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 387. DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2021.111445.
Yu, C.C, and Whittaker, A. S. (2022). “A process to verify numerical models for seismic fluid-structure interaction in advanced reactor vessels.” Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 387. DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2021.111580.
Parsi, S.S., Mertz, G., and Whittaker, A. S. (2022). “Evaluation of design equations for out-of-plane shear strength of deep concrete sections in nuclear power plant buildings.” Nuclear Engineering and Design,Vol. 386. DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2021.111545.
Lal, K. M., Parsi, S. S., Kosbab, B. D., Ingersoll, E., Charkas, H., and Whittaker, A. S. (2022). “Towards standardized advanced nuclear reactors: seismic isolation and the impact of the earthquake load case.” Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 386. DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2021.111487.
Research in environmental engineering seeks to better understand the physical, chemical, and biological processes that influence the health of our environment and to pursue innovative solutions for its protection. Researchers in this area also focus on engineering sustainability.
Research in geosystems engineering addresses computational geomechanics, deep foundations, ground improvement, seismic response of soils, liquefaction, and retrofit of foundations, dams, slopes, and retaining walls.
Researchers in the structural engineering, mechanics and materials group enhance community resiliency to earthquakes, develop design guidelines for buildings and other structures, and conduct vital research in various emerging areas such as wind, fire and materials engineering.
Research in transportation systems engineering focuses on improving the efficiency, safety, sustainability, and resiliency of surface transportation systems.