Engineering Disaster Protection

Newswise — Frederick, Camille, Hugo, Andrew and Ivan. Just the mention of the names elicits vivid images of the devastation caused by these hurricanes. UAB engineers are developing new building materials to protect people and property from powerful storms such as these. "Improved building materials have the potential to reduce life and property losses, which will continue to increase if steps are not taken to make coastal communities less vulnerable," said damage mitigation expert Nasim Uddin, Ph.D. One material in development is externally bonded fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, which are stronger than concrete and can withstand hurricane-force winds, bullets and explosions. Uddin is organizing an NSF-funded international workshop on disaster mitigation construction in Bangladesh, currently the world's foremost natural disaster-prone country, in December 2005.