The NHERI Network Independent Advisory Committee, or NIAC, represents the broad scientific and engineering communities within NHERI’s scope. In two annual meetings, the NIAC gathers information and then provides objective guidance and advice to the Network Coordination Office in the form of the NIAC Annual Report. In turn, the NCO shares the report with the NHERI Strategic Council and NSF.

The reports through 2024 are available to the community in the NIAC section of the NHERI NCO website:

This year, February 24 and 25, the NIAC held their in-person meeting at the NHERI FIU Wall of Wind facility. As a highlight, PI Arindam Chowdhury provided a tour of the Wall of Wind – and included a sneak peek at a prototype fan for the proposed NSF NICHE facility.

As well as hearing presentations on the WOW and NICHE facilities and conducting executive sessions, the NIAC team met with NHERI NCO leadership Julio Ramirez and JoAnn Browning and held a virtual Q&A session with the NCO team, who briefed the NIAC on their activities.
 

From left: JoAnn Browning, NHERI NCO; NIAC members Bill Hansmire, Catherine Petroff (NIAC chair), John van de Lindt, Peter Vickery, Lesley Ewing, Carol Shield, and Glenn Rix (NIAC vice-chair); Arindam Chowdhury, FIU WOW PI; and Julio Ramirez, NHERI NCO PI.

The NHERI NIAC take a tour of the FIU Wall of Wind Facility.

The NICHE testbed at FIU includes a single NICHE fan, one of 20 in the final design. It can blow at wind speeds up to 200 MPH. The NICHE design team is studying machinery durability, efficiency, noise level – and a louver system capable of generating transient winds like in tornadoes and downbursts.