Our research focuses mainly on the study of nonlinear deterministic and stochastic structure-fluid-soil interaction systems in the ocean, coastal and land-based environment using state-of-the-art analytical, computational and experimental techniques. The systems of interest range from floating and anchored platforms, ships and mooring structures in deep and shallow water, coastal structures in the surf and swash zones, to coastal and inland structures. Excitations to the systems include natural environmental loads such as waves, current, tsunamis, wind, hurricanes and earthquakes as well as man-made sources.

We develop analytical and numerical structure-fluid-soil interaction models, as appropriate, based on the finite-element, finite-volume and finite-difference methods to predict the response of these systems to environmental and man-made loads using PC's, workstations as well as supercomputers. We emphasize basic understanding of physical behavior using fundamental knowledge of structural (solid), fluid and soil mechanics, using simple analytical approximations as well as complex numerical models.

The analytical and numerical models developed in our studies are verified and validated using experimental results from field and research laboratories. At Oregon State University, we have a unique, world class laboratory facility -- the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory (WRL) allowing large-scale modeling tests of fluid-structure-soil interaction systems. In addition to using experimental results provided from our colleagues world-wide, a significant number of our experimental results are obtained from the WRL.

Our research support federal and state goverment as well as industrial organizations including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Office of Naval Research (ONR), homeland security and commericial companies.

Dr. Yim, in addition to being the Prinicpal Investigator (PI) of a significant number of ONR and other Navy projects, is the PI of the $5M NSF Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulations (NEES) Tsunami Wave Basin Construction (TWBC) Project (FY2000-04). He is also the PI of the follow-up NEES Site Maintenance, Operation and Mangement (MOM) Project (FY2005-14) with approximately $1M per year for 10 years. Our research group is developing numerical "Virtual Tsunami Wave Basin Facility " models to simulate physical structure-fluid-soil interaction experiments conducted and to be conducted at the Lab. We are looking for highly self-motivated PhD level graduate students in Structural, Coastal and Ocean Engineering as well as Naval Architecture fields to conduct advanced, high-performance-computing based coupled solid-fluid mechanics research.