LSU Civil Engineering Professor Aims to Create Offshore Energy Infrastructures That Resist Hurricanes, Aging

Before hurricanes and storms wreak havoc on U.S. Southern coastal cities, they first pass over oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, testing their structural integrity. LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Associate Professor Chao Sun is researching how to create resilient offshore energy infrastructure under extreme tropical cyclones and aging issues.

“Thanks to a $76,000 Early-Career Research Fellowship from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, my long-term research goals are to create safe, multi-hazard resilient offshore energy infrastructure, such as offshore wind farms, oil/gas pipelines, offshore platforms, and other civil infrastructure, such as buildings, bridges, and power transmission/distribution systems threatened by extreme windstorms and structural aging issues,” Sun said.

Sun's research is part of LSU's Scholarship First agenda and its focus on creating sustainable solutions for the future of the energy industry.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS WORK ON SUSTAINING ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE