UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State researchers, funded by the National Science Foundation’s EArly-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER), are studying the social and engineering impacts of the Wood River Bridge in Alaska on the surrounding rural community. Part of the team, led by Rebecca Napolitano, assistant professor of architectural engineering, met with students and instructors from the Bristol Bay Regional Career and Technical Education Program in Dillingham, Alaska, in April to explain their ongoing work.   

The researchers aim to develop a bridge life cycle management protocol that can be used in rural communities across the United States. Napolitano and her doctoral student Rakeh Saleem are collaborating with the project’s principal investigator Guangqing Chi, professor of rural sociology, demography and public health sciences, College of Agricultural Sciences; Heather Randell, assistant professor of rural sociology and demography, College of Agricultural Sciences; and Megan Mucioki, assistant research professor, Social Science Research Institute; and partners in Alaska.