Abstract: Critical interdependent infrastructure networks such as water distribution, natural gas pipeline, and electricity power systems provide the essential necessities of societies. Their utilization is the backbone of everyday processes such as production, health, convenience and many more. Cascading dysfunctionality in these critical infrastructure networks often triggers chain reactions of blockages through the system of highly interconnected infrastructure networks, and the disruption of surrounding societies. Thus, for the planning of restoration processes and resilience of these systems, social aspects should also be considered. In this work, we study the restoration planning of critical interdependent infrastructure networks after a disruptive event by emphasizing on the social vulnerability indices of interacting society. We also propose a component importance measure that is driven by the social aspects of resilience. This measure quantifies the impact of equitable restoration activities on components of interdependent infrastructure networks. We present an illustrative example of the proposed optimization model as well as the component importance analysis with a focus on studying the community resilience in Shelby County, TN, United States. 

Speaker Bio: Deniz Berfin Karakoc earned her M.Sc. degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and her B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent University in Turkey. Deniz is currently a Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

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