Jason DeJong, Ph.D.
College of Engineering
Infrastructure Systems
NSF-Funded Research Keeps Bridges and Buildings Safer
At UC Davis, Professor Jason DeJong studies how soil and earth materials behave so we can build safer and stronger communities. As director of the Center for Geotechnical Modeling, he helps researchers from across the country test models of buildings, bridges, dams and levees using powerful centrifuges that recreate real-world conditions. This federally funded work gives engineers information they need to design infrastructure that can withstand earthquakes, flooding and the growing impacts of climate change.
Helping Humanity
Without continued federal support, our community infrastructures will be at risk. The center has already had to shrink its team and reduce access to its national testing facility, which means fewer projects can move forward. These important studies enhance safety, strengthen building code requirements, improve levee safety and protect families from infrastructure failures. Major funding cuts would lessen the tools used to prepare communities for the next disaster.
Funding cuts mean communities lose the testing that helps
prevent bridge failures, levee breaks and other dangerous disasters.”
— Jason DeJong, Ph.D.