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WVU professor patents invention to protect structures from earthquake and hurricane damage

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This WVU-patented invention will protect structures from earthquake and hurricane damage.

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CONTACT: Mary C. Dillon, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
304.293.4086; Mary.Dillon@mail.wvu.edu

What: West Virginia University professor Hota GangaRao will demonstrate a WVU-patented invention that will increase the strength and endurance of structures that need to be rehabilitated or must withstand shocks from hurricanes, tornadoes or other large blasts.

The technology is more efficient and economical and yields better results than traditional methods of retrofitting.

The demonstration will feature a full-scale test of reinforced concrete beams and columns, in which force is applied to the structure to the point of joint failure.

Who: Hota GangaRao, Maurice A. and Joann Wadsworth Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and director of the Constructed Facilities Center; and Praveen Majjigapu, graduate student in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, will conduct the demonstration. 

When: Thursday, May 18, 10:30 a.m. 

Where: Major Units Lab, Percival Hall Annex; 355 Oakland Street, Morgantown, WV

The lab is located on the bottom level of Percival Hall. (To access the lab, enter Lot 72 off Evansdale Drive. The lot is located between Allen Hall/Percival Hall and the Towers tennis courts. It is directly across from the Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions/Agriculture Sciences Annex. Proceed through the door in the bottom lot.)

Download a map of the WVU campus at http://campusmap.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

ms/05/15/17

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