Dr. Amy Cerato, Rapp Foundation Presidential Professor of the University of Oklahoma's Civil Engineering and Environmental Science Department is designing, testing and implementing resilient and sustainable foundation systems that will anchor our nation's infrastructure and allow it to withstand a host of multi-hazards, including extreme wind events (hurricanes, tornadoes), earthquakes, landslides and expansive soils. Various soils react differently to the environment, and so the foundation of a bridge, building, or dam must be built specifically for its soil conditions to protect society and reduce damage to the structure during a hazardous event. In the expansive soil arena, Dr. Cerato is discovering new ways to mitigate the estimated annual $15 billion in damages caused by this natural hazard to single family and commercial buildings and roadways. Expansive unsaturated soils are found in every state and cover one-fourth of the United States. They undergo large amounts of heaving and shrinking due to seasonal moisture changes which leads to cracking and buckling of the infrastructure. Providing sturdy structures that can withstand the shifting soil also offers an underground "safehouse" for protection against tornadoes. For underdeveloped or developing countries with limited access to concrete, Dr. Cerato has designed steel helical piles that can be screwed into the ground using animal or human power to support 1-10 kilowatt wind turbines. Additionally, Dr. Cerato has written an algorithm that identifies target areas for landslides.

Dr. Cerato's research is directed at making America's infrastructure more sustainable by resolving a number of foundation-related issues:

• Soft or expansive soils happen to be congregated in a region of the country that is also susceptible to above ground multi-hazards (tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes), which only heightens the potential damage should one of these disasters strike. For many large-scale projects though, it is impossible to take down the structure and correct the problem. Instead, Dr. Cerato is designing, testing, and implementing resilient and sustainable foundation systems. For example, in a recent project her team discovered that cement can be used to strengthen existing deep foundations under bridges in soft soils in seismic zones using cement. For expanding soil under roadways that swells and leads to cracks, bumps, and potholes, Dr. Cerato is adding a chemical stabilizer that strengthens the soil and prevents swelling. She has developed a method using existing X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) technology, that determines the precise amount of calcium oxide in soil, which is used by transportation officials for construction quality control and geotechnical forensic investigations. 

• Slope stability along transportation corridors is essential for road safety and the safety of the surrounding inhabitants. Dr. Cerato has helped develop and validate an algorithm that can predict when and where a landslide will occur, using input metrics such as rainfall data, soil type and topography. This algorithm is continually being updated with new data, but shows promise in pinpointing locations of possible landslides so that transportation officials can take the correct precautionary measures.

• Concrete is the single most widely used material in the world, but in small villages in developing countries or even remote areas of the U.S.,  the material is often inaccessible. To combat this issue, Dr. Cerato began designing "green" foundations; foundations that do not leave a footprint once the infrastructure is removed. Small wind turbines, for pumping water or generating electricity, can utilize steel helical piles, instead of concrete, as foundation elements. These helical piles can be screwed into the ground using animal or human power. They are "green" because not only is the installation process more efficient than using concrete, but should the structure need to be moved, the piles can simply be un-spun and leave no footprint behind. In 2008, Dr. Cerato completed a research study on the long-term cyclic response of full-scale helical piles, which was the first of its kind. Today, she is working with the Deep Foundations Institute to test helical piles in more types of soils under seismic loading so that these "green" foundations can be more widely used in areas that suffer from earthquakes. These piles are a more flexible foundation, and therefore respond better to seismic activity, but have yet to be extensively tested. There is also hope to further develop and test these foundations for industrial-sized 10-20 megawatt turbines.