Michael Shields is an associate professor of civil and systems engineering. His research focuses on uncertainty quantification for wide-ranging problems in computational mechanics and computational materials science.
His group, the Shields Uncertainty Research Group (SURG), conducts methodological research in uncertainty quantification, machine learning, and stochastic methods to better understand the effects of uncertainties and random variations on the performance of materials and structures. This research can be applied to boost structural resilience during extreme events such as fires, earthquakes, high winds, blasts, and impacts by enabling more accurate and informative structural and material modeling. Shields’ work primarily focuses on problems where computational efficiency is critical and the behavior of the system is highly unpredictable, such as in civil structures, aircraft, ships, automobiles, and spacecraft.