Natural hazards researchers employ an experimental technique called hybrid simulation for testing the behavior of large-scale structures — such as bridges, tall buildings and wind turbines – under wind and earthquake loads.

A research group dedicated to advancing hybrid simulation is the Multi-Hazard Engineering Collaboratory for Hybrid Simulation, MECHS. An NSF-funded Research Coordination Network, MECHS focuses on broadening the community of researchers engaged in hybrid simulation (HS) and real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) projects. The technique is sometimes called “cyber-physical” testing.

In recent MECHS workshops, the community emphasized the need for a helpful list of courses for learning about HS and RTHS.

To address this need, MECHS has developed an HS/RTHS Curriculum. It contains a flow chart with selected topics and hyperlinks to a set of introductory videos for students and researchers who want to learn the core concepts of HS/RTHS. The format facilitates the process of learning the essentials of the HS/RTHS implementation.

Some additional advanced topics are provided too. For those who want to know more, MECHS has made available a complete list of courses on the same page.

To navigate through this content, start at the MECHS website. Under the "Resources/Learning Materials" section, click on Curriculum below the LEARNING MATERIALS title. Or go directly to the MECHS Curriculum page.

MECHS welcomes users to join its community mailing list. Find details here.