There is an inexorable trend for civil engineering structures to become more slender and lightweight, as engineers strive to design more efficient structures with reduced economic cost, reduced carbon footprint and increased flexibility of usage. Unfortunately, due to their reduced mass and stiffness these structures are inherently lively and there is a desperate need for advanced technologies that are capable of ensuring satisfactory vibration performance when people walk, run and jump on them. There are two key issues to address: (1) Technologies are required to deal with existing vibration problems, which are increasingly and widely observed in structures such as floors, footbridges, sports stadia and staircases. Currently available technologies are insufficient to deal with the majority of these problems, which means that extensive and low-tech structural modification schemes have to be employed that are both expensive and highly disruptive. (2) If the ambitions of structural engineers for ever more slender and efficient structures are to be realised, it will be necessary to 'design in' advanced methods of vibration control when developing new structures. This is because many contemporary structures are already being designed at their limits of vibration acceptability. Unfortunately, the new technologies required for this transformative design approach are not yet available. In the last five years, the applicant and his team have carried out exciting research into active control of vibration in floor structures, in which large reductions in vibration have been achieved that are not possible using other floor control technologies. They have also demonstrated that significant material savings may be made using this technology, which has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of new buildings. This is the main vision for this fellowship and the future, where advanced and intelligent vibration control strategies will become commonplace in structures subject to human dynamic loading. However, a solution that works for floor vibrations from a single person walking is not necessarily going to work for a sports stadium with many thousands of people jumping during a rock concert. Hence, what is required is a required is a complete 'suite' of control technologies, from which the most appropriate solution may be chosen and implemented for any particular vibration problem. In these days of active noise cancelling headphones and semi-active vehicle suspension systems, it is time for these advanced technologies to find their place in civil structural engineering, to solve the unique problems of human-induced vibration. Hence, in this research a comprehensive framework of technologies will be developed, so that the most appropriate technologies may be selected for a particular application. This will be the first time in the world that such a holistic approach has been taken to mitigation of human-induced vibrations. Fundamental research into a range of these technologies, including active, semi-active and hybrid vibration control techniques will be carried out to prove their viability in the civil engineering sector through analytical modelling, laboratory testing and in-the-field implementation. Finally, extensive industrial liaison and public outreach activities are planned to ensure the take-up of these technologies, which is the key way in which this research will benefit UK plc.

There is an inexorable trend for civil engineering structures to become more slender and lightweight, as engineers strive to design more efficient structures with reduced economic cost, reduced carbon footprint and increased flexibility of usage. Unfortunately, due to their reduced mass and stiffness these structures are inherently lively and there is a desperate need for advanced technologies that are capable of ensuring satisfactory vibration performance when people walk, run and jump on them. There are two key issues to address: (1) Technologies are required to deal with existing vibration problems, which are increasingly and widely observed in structures such as floors, footbridges, sports stadia and staircases. Currently available technologies are insufficient to deal with the majority of these problems, which means that extensive and low-tech structural modification schemes have to be employed that are both expensive and highly disruptive. (2) If the ambitions of structural engineers for ever more slender and efficient structures are to be realised, it will be necessary to 'design in' advanced methods of vibration control when developing new structures. This is because many contemporary structures are already being designed at their limits of vibration acceptability. Unfortunately, the new technologies required for this transformative design approach are not yet available. In the last five years, the applicant and his team have carried out exciting research into active control of vibration in floor structures, in which large reductions in vibration have been achieved that are not possible using other floor control technologies. They have also demonstrated that significant material savings may be made using this technology, which has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of new buildings. This is the main vision for this fellowship and the future, where advanced and intelligent vibration control strategies will become commonplace in structures subject to human dynamic loading. However, a solution that works for floor vibrations from a single person walking is not necessarily going to work for a sports stadium with many thousands of people jumping during a rock concert. Hence, what is required is a required is a complete 'suite' of control technologies, from which the most appropriate solution may be chosen and implemented for any particular vibration problem. In these days of active noise cancelling headphones and semi-active vehicle suspension systems, it is time for these advanced technologies to find their place in civil structural engineering, to solve the unique problems of human-induced vibration. Hence, in this research a comprehensive framework of technologies will be developed, so that the most appropriate technologies may be selected for a particular application. This will be the first time in the world that such a holistic approach has been taken to mitigation of human-induced vibrations. Fundamental research into a range of these technologies, including active, semi-active and hybrid vibration control techniques will be carried out to prove their viability in the civil engineering sector through analytical modelling, laboratory testing and in-the-field implementation. Finally, extensive industrial liaison and public outreach activities are planned to ensure the take-up of these technologies, which is the key way in which this research will benefit UK plc.

A resilience-based design approach plays an important role in the design of new bridges and other structures. The structural elements of bridges are often directly exposed to the environment without any protection. Even though life-cycle and sustainability criteria have been incorporated in new design guidelines, there is still no design and construction technique that can fully address the future demands of a resilient and sustainable transport infrastructure. The aim of this research is to produce innovative and transformative engineering solutions for a durable, low-maintenance, low-cost, and demountable accelerated bridge construction technique, which is resilient to environmental threats, and natural hazards. The solutions will include a completely new resilience-based bridge design approach and biologically inspired composite columns for next-generation accelerated bridge construction. Towards this goal, this research will construct an innovative composite bridge column, which is inspired by the mechanics of the human spine. In the human spine, intervertebral discs provide flexibility, dissipate energy from the movements of the human body, and absorb and transmit forces without damaging the vertebrae bones. The proposed spinal bridge column will be constructed using precast composite segments (the 'vertebrae'). A new smart composite material will be developed and used in between of these solid composite segments (the 'intervertebral discs'). This will keep the vertebrae from rubbing against each other, transfer the shear forces through friction, absorb the impact due to the rocking of vertebrae, and provide mechanical damping under dynamic loading. Finally, the vertebrae and intervertebral discs will be tied together using an unbonded composite post-tensioning tendon (the 'longitudinal ligament'), to provide self-centring mechanism in the column when subjected to lateral force. In this 24 moths research, the underlying science of the new spinal column will be investigated through experimental testing and numerical modelling. During the entire duration of the project a series of review meetings, short visits to academics as well as industry partners, and an international workshop will be organised. This interaction is deemed vital for the co-development of new concepts, the transfer of know-how and the resilient and sustainable accelerated bridge construction.

Nuclear power is low-carbon and green energy. It presently provides about 10% of the world's electricity and 20% of the UK's electricity, contributing enormously to global Net Zero emissions. Nuclear power will continue to play an important role in the global transition to a low carbon economy. However, one major disadvantage of nuclear power is that its generation process produces radioactive waste that can remain hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years. Over the past more than 60 years' utilisation of nuclear power in the UK and worldwide, many radioactive wastes have accumulated, most of which are stored temporarily in storage near nuclear power plants. It is vital for us to deal with the waste to protect human health and the environment. A global consensus has been reached in this area, that is to isolate radioactive waste that is incompatible with surface disposal permanently in suitable underground rock formations (i.e., host rocks) by developing a geological disposal facility (GDF). As also set out in the 2014 White Paper, the UK Government is committed to implementing geological disposal, with work on developing this led by Radioactive Waste Management Ltd (RWM). Developing a GDF relies on a stable rock formation to ensure mechanical stability and barrier function of host rocks. It is therefore essential to understand factors that influence the integrity of rocks. This is challenging partially because of the complexity of rock fractures that are widespread in the Earth upper crust. Although rock mechanical behaviour has a long record of study, attempts to understand the role of fractures on rock deformation still has unresolved issues. For example, natural rock fractures are often dealt with crudely; almost all previous studies of this problem assume rock fractures to be continuous, with zero or very small cohesion that can be neglected. However, it is almost a ubiquitous feature that natural rock fractures in the subsurface are incipient and heterogeneous, with considerable tensile strength and cohesion. This is either due to secondary minerals having recrystallised, bonding fracture surfaces together, or due to rock bridges. This INFORM project will focus on mineral-filled fractures (i.e., veins) that are frequently seen in the subsurface but often ignored or less researched so far. The aim of INFORM is to increase confidence in the design, construction, and operation of GDFs, by developing a mechanics-based multi-scale framework to understand the influence of fracture heterogeneity on the integrity and deformation behaviour of rocks across scales. The framework will integrate imaging analysis, laboratory experiments, numerical modelling, and field observations, to (1) determine factors contributing to fracture heterogeneity across scales, (2) understand the shear and triaxial deformational behaviour of veined rocks considering natural fracture geometry and heterogeneity, and (3) develop a field-scale model for repository structures considering fracture heterogeneity. Unlike most previous studies, which have focused on the influence of mechanical fractures on rock behaviour, INFORM will for the first time investigate the influence of natural veins, and will consider and implement these observations in the modelling of veined rock behaviour applied to a GDF. INFORM will "inform" a wide range of audiences with new insights through correlating micro-scale observations and macro-scale deformation of heterogenous veined and fractured rocks. This will be possible with the strong support of our academic and industrial partners (RWM, UK; Jacobs, UK; Northeastern University, China; GFZ, Germany; Stanford University, USA) and the help of our well-designed outreach and publication plans. INFORM will lead to a more accurate and reliable examination of fracture heterogeneity, which will not only directly benefit GDF R&D, but also broader rock engineering applications (e.g., tunnelling, cavern construction).

Sensors are everywhere, facilitating real-time decision making and actuation, and informing policy choices. But extracting information from sensor data is far from straightforward: sensors are noisy, prone to decalibrate, and may be misplaced, moved, compromised, and generally degraded over time. We understand very little about the issues of programming in the face of pervasive uncertainty, yet sensor-driven systems essentially present the designer with uncertainty that cannot be engineered away. Moreover uncertainty is a multi-level phenomenon in which errors in deployment can propagate through to incorrectly-positioned readings and then to poor decisions; system layering breaks down when exposed to uncertainty. How can we be assured a sensor system does what we intend, in a range of dynamic environments, and how can we make a system ``smarter'' ? Currently we cannot answer these questions because we are missing a science of sensor system software. We will develop the missing science that will allow us to engineer for the uncertainty inherent in real-world systems. We will deliver new principles and techniques for the development and deployment of verifiable, reliable, autonomous sensor systems that operate in uncertain, multiple and multi-scale environments. The science will be driven and validated by end-user and experimental applications.