Professor Restrepo focuses on the discovery of construction alternatives for state-of-the-art, performance-based designs. By using shake table tests on buildings and buildings components, Restrepo evaluates their non-linear dynamic response. Structural engineers on UCSD were recently awarded $16.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to upgrade the world’s largest outdoor earthquake simulator, which is operated by the university. The upgrade will accelerate the discovery of knowledge engineers need to build new structures and retrofit older structures, enhancing the resiliency of our communities.