CWRU researchers participate in Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s “In the Lab” program

On Sept. 20, researchers from Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering participated in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s “In the Lab” program with an interactive activity titled “Building on Solid Ground: Exploring How Soil Supports Structures.” 

Led by Assistant Professor Hyoung Suk Suh and his PhD students,  Zixi Zhang and Mohammad Rezanejad Nafouti, the activity introduced visitors to the fundamentals of soil-structure interaction through a hands-on demonstration. Participants built wooden block towers under different ground conditions, including coarse dry sand, fine wet sand and coarse dry sand with engineered foundations, allowing them to directly observe how soil conditions and foundation design can affect structural stability.

The activity provided an opportunity to connect civil and environmental engineering research with the broader community in an engaging and accessible way. Throughout the event, a large number of visitors stopped by the group’s table to participate in the demonstration and learn more about how engineers understand and address challenges involving soils, foundations and structural stability. The strong turnout made the event an especially rewarding opportunity to engage with the community and introduce visitors, particularly younger audiences, to engineering concepts and potential careers in science and engineering.