General Description

Salary: $70 per hour

PREP Research Associate

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

A senior researcher or a faculty member is sought for a position in Structural Engineering to support the development and implementation of a new nonstructural component fragility and consequence database for performance-based hazard assessments of buildings. NIST has recently developed a relational database focusing on nonstructural elements in buildings, NED (Nonstructural Element Database), which collects information from experimental, analytical, and historic performance observations into seismic fragilities and consequence models to support building-specific seismic performance research and assessments, refactoring and expanding upon the FEMA P-58 database as the standard of practice for seismic risk assessment. Data in NED is organized such that each data table represents an abstract portion of the fragility model, e.g., separating observations of component performance from an experimental test from that of a fragility model and repair costs consequence models, therefore, making the database both scalable with new information and clearly linked back to original source data through explicit relational keys. Currently, the project is still in its early development phase and does not yet have consequence models or data from historical events, but it has collected over 1500 experimental data points and compiled a fragility data set that includes and expands upon the full FEMA P-58 nonstructural database. NIST will supplement its capacities with input from PREP Fellow experts in the areas of component damage consequence modeling and database schema design. The PREP Fellow will work with NIST researchers to develop and implement a new consequence model data schema and consequence estimation procedures within the NED database. The work, to be completed in collaboration with NIST researchers and other external contractors, will be comprised of the following three major tasks: (1) review of the current database architecture and data schema, (2) development of a general consequence model database architecture and schema, and (3) implementation of new consequence models into the database.

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

-         Review the current design and data schema of the NED database, paying specific attention to missing data representations, duplicity in data design, points of unclarity, and capability to scale with new data and meet future use cases.

-         Conceptualize and design a data schema for three fragility consequence models: repair costs, repair time, and function.

-         Work closely with NIST researchers and external collaborators to iterate and improve upon the database design as well as support the implementation of the database.

-         Contributing to the publication of a NIST report and data repository documenting the database.

Qualifications

?         A strong background in engineering, natural hazards, probabilistic risk assessment, and software development.

?         The ability to work both independently and as part of a larger, multi-disciplinary team to achieve project objectives and meet project deadlines and reporting requirements.

Application Instructions

Please upload the following with your application:

-         CV/Resume

-         2 professional references

*Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info. Please DO NOT include telephone numbers, home address or photos on your resume.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority:  15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional  Research

 Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor's degree holders, graduate students, master's degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences,

chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this

information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices:  NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

About Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University remains committed to its founding principle, that education for all students should be grounded in exploration and discovery. Hopkins students are challenged not just to learn but also to advance learning itself. Critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and entrepreneurship are all encouraged and nourished in this unique educational environment. After more than 130 years, Johns Hopkins remains a world leader in both teaching and research. Faculty members and their research colleagues at the university's Applied Physics Laboratory have each year since 1979 won Johns Hopkins more federal research and development funding than any other university. The university has nine academic divisions and campuses throughout the Baltimore-Washington area. The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the Whiting School of Engineering, the School of Education and the Carey Business School are based at the Homewood campus in northern Baltimore. The schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing share a campus in east Baltimore with The Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Peabody Institute, a leading professional school of music, is located on Mount Vernon Place in downtown Bal...timore. The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies is located in Washington's Dupont Circle area.

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