Bob Bea, once dubbed the master of disaster for his expertise in hazard resiliency, now spends most of his free time sailing off the California shores. Not long ago, he was toiling full-time to keep those waters from wreaking havoc on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area, as part of a Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure Networks project.

Credit: Robert Bea

The RESIN project at the University of California, Berkeley was funded in 2008 by the National Science Foundation to create new approaches to risk assessment and management. The goal was to bolster resilience and sustainability in interdependent, interconnected, interactive critical infrastructure systems. Bea, a senior researcher, was well acquainted with risk when he headed up the project, which served as a capstone to a 60-year career, one that took him from an oil rig in Louisiana to the steps of Capitol Hill.

Credit: Robert Bea

American Society of Civil Engineers geotechnical-team members inspect a portion of the floodwall along the Industrial Canal that was overtopped and flattened by Katrina's storm surge. The storm's force shattered much of the concrete wall that topped the steel pilings.

Credit: Rune Storesund photos