In 2008, a deadly earthquake shook Sichuan, China. The quake took at least 65,000 lives and caused billions of dollars in damages. Pengfei Wang, a new professor in ODU's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was in high school at the time. "I was shocked by such an enormous loss, which triggered me to start learning more about earthquakes," he said.
That experience so affected Wang, that it led him to develop earthquake hazard prediction models as part of his doctoral studies and postdoc research in geotechnical engineering at "My ultimate research goal is to advance our knowledge of various natural hazards and mitigate their damage and loss," he said.
Wang, who grew up in China, and has lived in California, is enjoying the transition to the East Coast. "Hampton Roads and ODU are among the most fantastic places I have lived and traveled to worldwide," he said. "The diverse and friendly community made me quickly get used to this new environment."
Research: Wang's primary research interests include geotechnical engineering, engineering seismology, applied statistics, emphasizing regional geo-hazard modeling and analysis, multi-hazards risk assessment, geospatial analysis, and statistical learning and modeling in civil engineering applications. Learn more about Wang