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January 23, 2003

Purdue professor was member of team detailing 911 Pentagon damage

Results of a study detail how the Pentagon's unusual design enabled the building to withstand the aircraft collision on Sept. 11, 2001, and helped save lives.

Mete A. Sozen, a Purdue University civil engineering professor, was a member of the research team that authored the "building performance study." A news release about the study's findings will be released today (Thursday, 1/23) by the American Society of Civil Engineers' Structural Engineering Institute.

In addition to serving on the research team, Sozen previously worked with other Purdue researchers to create a computer simulation showing in scientific detail how the Pentagon's structure reacted when the plane crashed into the building.

The team's report is the result of a seven-month examination and analysis of the buildingšs performance during and immediately after the attack. The report explains what structural features and mechanisms contributed to the Pentagonšs resiliency and how these features and mechanisms performed during the impact and ensuing fire. Those revelations could be used to design safer buildings in the future.

Sozen, Kettelhut Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, was a member of the six-person building performance study team.

A news release about the Purdue simulation of the crash is available online

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu


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