The Charles Lee Powell Laboratories at UCSD are multiple-location, multi-million-dollar facilities dedicated to research at the materials-, component-, assembly-, and systems-levels. The Powell Labs feature one of the largest assemblies of reaction-wall/strong floor systems in the world. The main testing facility was dedicated in 1986, and includes 12,179 assignable square feet of space. Additional facilities have been added as the scope and nature of Powell Labs research has expanded. With their test area dimensions, load capacities, state-of-the-art computer controlled servo-hydraulics, and data acquisition systems, the laboratories represent a unique tool for large and full scale testing of structures.

In 2005, the Englekirk Structural Engineering Center opened as an expansion of Powell Labs (located eight miles from the UCSD campus), and is equipped with the world’s first outdoor shake table, and is adjacent to the country’s largest soil foundation-structure Interaction Facility

Powell Lab NHERI Lab