Arkansas 180 Video: Dissecting an Earthquake

As a member of Geo-engineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance, or GEER, an organization sponsored by National Science Foundation to conduct reconnaissance efforts of extreme events such as earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes, engineering professor Brady Cox traveled to Haiti after a magnitude 7 earthquake shook the small, Caribbean-island nation, killing more than 200,000 people and destroying buildings, bridges and other infrastructure.

Cox and seven other GEER members gathered data and examined the earthquake’s impact on buildings, bridges, utilities and ports. Their work will deepen an understanding of earthquakes and contribute to the design of structures that can respond to the violent effects of earthquakes without failing. Some of his work may be seen in this video.

The Arkansas 180 Series provides an eclectic review of the university campus, giving a 180-degree sweep of the campus in about 180 seconds. Past videos in the Arkansas 180 Series have included profiles of students, reporting on faculty research and simple seasonal montages of the changing campus environment. They are produced by the office of university relations as time from other projects allows and posted to Arkansas Newswire and the university’s YouTube channel at least once a month.