RESEARCH LAB ACTIVITIES

The professional objectives of Sam Labi’s research lab include advancements in the quality of instructional delivery, research and engagement, active conduct of research, effective dissemination of findings, and outreach to all educational strata, and service to the profession and the community, both domestic and international. The lab has strived to accomplish these objectives by pursuing multidisciplinary research and participating in outreach activities.

The lab’s research is generally guided by current and evolving trends on the landscape of civil infrastructure development, an environment that is increasingly characterized by not only emergent threats (aging infrastructure, funding limitations, and infrastructure vulnerability, for example) but also opportunities (technological advancements and interdisciplinary synergies, for example).

The lab’s methodological contributions are drawn from diverse disciplines including statistics, econometrics, finance, management, economics, and operations research, and utilize tools that are either descriptive (simulation, statistical and econometric, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and artificial intelligence modeling) or prescriptive (multi-criteria, stochastic, simulation-based, and dynamic optimization). Tools such as these form the building blocks of the lab’s methodologies that have helped to develop sound analytical platforms..

These platforms provide a scientific basis for infrastructure development decisions that are consistent with greater cost effectiveness, condition-related resilience to natural and man-made stressors, and long-term sustainability in terms of the infrastructure longevity.