Newswise — The Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, which links New York and Ontario, will benefit from Clarkson University research and new technology, under the terms of an agreement between Clarkson and the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority.
“The Authority and Clarkson will work collaboratively on research, technology transfer, education and training projects mutually beneficial for the North Country,” said Authority Executive Director Wade A. Davis. “This includes identifying funding for research, technology transfer, education, and training projects.”
The collaboration will focus on three main areas: establishing collaborative research and development of technologies for bridge monitoring and sensor data fusion to improve the overall performance of the international bridge; advancing cross-border internet and communication technologies; and small business development.
“This agreement is an example of the vital role played by Clarkson University in supporting regional economic development projects,” said Clarkson University President Tony Collins. “This research will not only have an immediate real benefit to bridge users on both sides of the border, but it could also provide additional small business opportunities in our region, as well as infrastructure innovations statewide and nationally. This connection between university research, infrastructure and industry is one of the cornerstones of the innovation economy.”
The long-term operation and management strategy for the bridge requires high-tech monitoring tools.
“These can start with bridge structural health monitoring and extend to traffic monitoring and homeland security applications,” says Clarkson University Civil & Environmental Engineering Professor and Executive Officer Kerop D. Janoyan. “The sensors can also be applied to seaway water and air quality monitoring. We plan to work on sensor requisition, acquisition, and deployment as well as in-house sensor development and design.”
“This partnership can enhance research activities we are currently carrying out on signature bridges’ vibration dynamics, control, and health monitoring,” says Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering Professor Pier Marzocca.
Janoyan and Marzocca have significant experience in bridge monitoring, modeling and data fusion analysis.
Janoyan has been involved in a series of national and international advanced transportation infrastructure and bridge engineering projects. The emphasis of the work is on the development and deployment of dense low-cost sensors interfaced with wireless sensor networks to obtain real-time measurements from in-service bridges. This provides valuable knowledge on the behavior of the structure, its response to service and environmental loading, and its deterioration condition.
Marzocca has also been involved in a number of projects dealing with advanced aeroelastic behavior of civil and aero-mechanical systems. Recently, he has worked on the development of computational tools for signature bridges that look into sensing data-fusion and modeling aspects directly applicable to the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge.
An established small business may be able to address the bridge monitoring and data analysis of the measurements from the sensors. The business could be housed at the Authority’s Commerce Park, under guidance and mentorship from Clarkson’s Shipley Center for Innovation and the Council for International Trade, Technology, Education and Communication (CITEC).
Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world’s pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and health sciences, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.
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