UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Tong Qiu, assistant professor of civil engineering, was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Development (CAREER) Award.

The CAREER award is the most prestigious award given by the NSF and is designed to support junior faculty members who have shown exceptional promise through outstanding research, excellent teaching and the integration of education and research by awarding assistant professors with five years of funding.

“When I found out I got it, I was very happy,” Qiu said. “But at the same time, I was very humbled because it is a very competitive process.”

He received $500,000 for the five-year project and will begin work in July.

The goal of Qiu’s project titled “Experimental, Numerical and Case Studies of Landslide Mobility” is to advance the understanding of landslide mobility. Rapid flow-like landslides such as mud flows, debris flows and rock avalanches are capable of mobilizing large amounts of soil and rock, which can impact large areas due to their high mobility.

“Landslides are still considered one of the world’s most destructive geo-hazards,” Qiu said.

According to Qiu, these rapid flow-like landslides cause billions of dollars in damage and thousands of deaths and injuries globally each year, yet their mobility remains poorly understood.

The CAREER award will support the fundamental research needed to advance the understanding of landslide mobility and help reliably predict landslide run-out. Results will improve current landslide hazard assessment and ultimately help reduce future losses to society. It will also foster international collaborations that contribute to the training of globally engaged engineering students.

Qiu has been a member of the Penn State faculty since 2010. His research interests include soil dynamics and geotechnical earthquake engineering, numerical analysis in geotechnical engineering, flow through porous media, fluid-solid interaction and landslides.