Joanna Zou
Joanna Zou is on the SimCenter software development team developing regional hazard simulation capabilities and performance-based engineering assessments. During her appointment through December 2020, Joanna has worked on the implementation and documentation of software and models for better assessing the damaging effects of earthquakes and hurricanes on buildings and civil infrastructures.
Joanna graduated with her MS from Stanford University in structural engineering and BS from Columbia University. At Stanford, Joanna participated in a PEER-coordinated project, supported by the California Earthquake Authority, to simulate the response and damage of wood-frame housing with vulnerable cripple walls, and she is currently utilizing OpenSeesPy models from this project to develop surrogate models of wood-frame housing for regional loss analyses.
Long Chen
Dr. Long Chen worked in the SimCenter Software Developers Team in charge of creating and advancing geotechnical aspects of the tools. He created the Transfer Function Tool (TFT), enhanced the site response tool, QS3HARK, and extended the backend tools in rWHALE to include site response functionality. His previous contribution to community-driven software includes an enhancment to the OpenSees framework to include a Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) element to characterize absorbent boundaries.
Professor Pedro Arduino, SimCenter domain expert, states that Dr. Chen provided expertise in computational geomechanics including constitutive modeling of soils, multi-phase formulations, soils-structure interaction analysis, and experience in finite element methods. His work enhances the geotechnical component in the natural hazard analysis discussion and thus facilitates the connection between the structural engineer analyst and seismologist.
Long Chen received his Ph.D. from University of Washington, Department of Civil Engineering, with an emphasis in geotechnical engineering. His dissertation topic was focussed on the implementation, verification, validation, and application of two constitutive models for earthquake engineering applications. His research experience includes implementation, verification, and validation of PM4Sand and PM4Silt models in OpenSees; performing parametric studies on PM4Sand; conducting OpenSees analyses to investigate the potential for liquefaction-induced lateral spreading considering spatial variability; and verification of numerical models for dynamic analysis of embankments.
