Shelter and the Storm

Hurricane Harvey delivered historic amounts of flooding and wind damage to the Texas coast in August 2017. After the storm a team of structural engineers from Notre Dame headed to the impact zone, led by Tracy Kijewski-Correa, the Leo E. and Patti Ruth Linbeck Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences.

“Reconnaissance brings home why you’re an engineer,” she said. “You’re trying to channel that call to service. We can study math and models, but the human face is different. You look at this house that’s blown apart like toothpicks and it reminds you what nature can do. There’s a certain awe and respect; then as engineers, we pivot to ‘How can we build better?'"