Faculty spotlight / New civil prof studying seismic building adaptions

Earthquake resistant buildings aren’t a new concept, but applying response-modification techniques to areas afflicted with human-induced earthquakes falls into a different category.

Elina Efthymiou, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at South Dakota State University, is taking an interest developed in earthquakes during her childhood in Greece and her academic training to provide options for communities in seismically-prone areas.

Efthymiou grew up in Athens. In 1999, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country’s capital city, killing 143 and injuring 1,600.

Her neighborhood was sparred, but two of her closest friends needed to evacuate because of damage to their buildings. It was a life-shaping experience for Efthymiou, whose parents were both structural engineers. “I thought if I had learned more about earthquakes I would be less afraid of them. It didn’t work that way. I just learned more about earthquakes, and I’m still afraid of them,” said Efthymiou, who joined the SDSU faculty in January.

Efthymiou earned master’s degrees from Democritus University of Thrace in structural engineering, 2011; and the University of Surrey, Guildford, England, in bridge engineering, 2012; and then her doctorate from City, University of London in structural engineering, 2019. She did postdoctoral work at Southern Methodist University in 2019-21.

‘Are there earthquakes in Texas?’

While studying at SMU in Dallas, she wondered “Are there earthquakes in Texas?”

The answer surprised her. Although there aren’t natural tectonic earthquakes in Texas, there is a growing number of human-induced earthquakes, particularly in the Permian (West Texas) and Fort Worth (North Texas) basins. University of Texas researchers report the rate of Texas earthquakes greater than magnitude 3 has increased from about two to 12 per year. 

These quakes are connected with petroleum operators pumping considerable amounts of wastewater into the ground and, in some cases, hydrofracturing operations to allow the crude oil to be mined.

“Damage is being recorded in other parts of the country, but it is not as significant as from natural earthquakes,” Efthymiou said.

While these low-level, human-induced earthquakes may not topple homes, they can create cracks in walls, send ceiling tiles tumbling down and jiggle plates out of the cupboard. “A good portion of the studies are on why it happens and the effects on the community in terms of the economy and mental health. My approach is directly on the building response,” Efthymiou said.

Challenge to predict earthquake location

Seismologists have mapped the Earth’s tectonic plates and have a good understanding of where natural faults could lead to earthquakes. That is not so with human-induced earthquakes as the quakes can occur several miles away from drilling operations, Efthymiou said. 

“In Texas, people are starting to worry. There is a lot of uncertainty,” she added.

However, to date there are no governmental programs or large-scale commercial retrofitting projects working with homeowners, she said. “What we want to explore is people’s opinion and their willingness to reduce the risk.”: 

In addition to her research, this spring Efthymiou taught a course on steel design for senior civil engineering majors and in the fall she will teach matrix analysis of structures.