Breaking: $575K NSF Grant to Revolutionize Earthquake-Proofing of Cities with AI
RENO, NV – October 10, 2025 – In a significant leap forward for urban safety, University of Nevada, Reno Associate Professor Floriana Petrone has been awarded a prestigious $575,478 National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award. This funding will propel her groundbreaking research into predicting and mitigating seismic risk, potentially transforming how we design and protect our cities against devastating earthquakes. This is a developing story, and archyde.com is following it closely for updates.
Beyond Empirical Data: A New Era of Earthquake Prediction
For years, engineers have relied on historical data and direct observation to understand how structures behave during earthquakes. But what about the “big one” – the rare, catastrophic event that hasn’t happened yet? Professor Petrone’s research tackles this critical gap. Her project, “Toward the Next Generation Data-Informed Probabilistic Framework for Infrastructure Seismic Risk Assessment and Uncertainty Quantification,” aims to create a revolutionary system that blends the power of digital simulations, probabilistic modeling, and machine learning.
“So far, we’ve developed our models based on the empirical data we had available,” Petrone explained to Nevada Today. “However, large-scale simulations offer, for the first time, the opportunity to fill key knowledge gaps, allowing us to test and update models to obtain more accurate estimates of infrastructure behavior during extreme events.”
How AI is Changing the Game in Seismic Engineering
The core of Petrone’s innovation lies in integrating observational data with the results of advanced computer simulations. By leveraging artificial intelligence, her team will build “physics-based models” capable of predicting structural responses across a much wider range of earthquake scenarios, including those of magnitude 7.5 or 8. This isn’t just about predicting if an earthquake will happen, but how specific buildings and infrastructure will react, allowing for targeted strengthening and improved design.
This approach represents a fundamental shift in seismic engineering. Traditionally, models have been limited by the availability of real-world data from major earthquakes. Simulations, while increasingly realistic, haven’t been fully integrated with observational data to create a truly comprehensive predictive framework. Petrone’s work bridges this divide.
An Open Platform for a Safer Future
The research won’t remain locked within the University of Nevada. Petrone plans to develop an open and shared platform, accessible to the entire scientific community. This collaborative approach will allow researchers worldwide to contribute data, refine models, and accelerate the development of more resilient infrastructure. The long-term goal is to improve building codes and design standards, making future cities significantly safer.
“The well-being of modern society is closely linked to the functionality of urban infrastructures,” Petrone emphasizes. “Strengthening our ability to correctly assess extreme risk loads is critical to planning, with direct implications for safety, costs, and social impact.”
From Rome to Reno: A Career Dedicated to Resilience
Petrone’s journey to becoming a leading voice in earthquake engineering is a testament to her dedication and international experience. After earning her doctorate in structural engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, she pursued advanced training in the United States, completing a fellowship at the University of California, Davis, and working at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where she focused on analyzing the seismic behavior of nuclear plants. Her current work also extends to innovative construction techniques, including a collaboration with the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center on 3D-printed concrete structures.
The NSF Career Award, awarded just after her promotion to Associate Professor, isn’t just personal recognition; it’s a platform for building a lasting legacy. “This award represents a long-term vision that I intend to build to advance our approach to classic, but not yet fully solved, engineering problems,” she states. Her commitment extends to training the next generation of engineers at the intersection of computer science, data analytics, and civil engineering.
This research promises not only to protect existing infrastructure but also to shape the future of urban planning, ensuring that our cities are prepared for the inevitable challenges of a seismically active world. Stay tuned to archyde.com for further updates on this critical development and other breaking news impacting infrastructure and public safety.
