|
John (Jack) R. Hayes Jr. |
GAITHERSBURG,
Md.—The Commerce Department’s National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced today that John
(Jack) R. Hayes Jr. has been appointed Director of the National
Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) effective Feb.
5, 2006. NEHRP is the federal government’s program to
reduce the risks to life and property from earthquakes. NEHRP
consists of four federal agencies: the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the
United States Geological Survey (USGS) and NIST. Congress
designated NIST as the lead agency for NEHRP in 2004.
As director, Hayes will provide overall program management,
coordination and technical leadership for NEHRP, strengthen
program effectiveness by facilitating implementation of earthquake
risk mitigation measures, and build and maintain effective
partnerships with NEHRP program agencies and stakeholders
in industry, academia and government. His duties will include:
- strategic
and management plan development and implementation;
- program
evaluation and performance measurement;
- budget
review, guidance and coordination;
- preparation
and submission of coordinated annual program budgets;
- submission
of an annual report to Congress on consolidated program
priorities, budget and results, including an assessment
of program effectiveness;
- information
dissemination on earthquake hazards and loss-reduction measures;
and
- related
interagency programs and policies.
Hayes
joins NIST after serving since 1988 as leader of seismic and
structural engineering research at the U.S. Army Engineer
Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Construction
Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign, Ill.
At CERL, Hayes was actively involved in earthquake engineering
research for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He also collaborated
extensively with the earthquake engineering program at NSF,
including work within the Mid-America Earthquake Center, and
has been directly involved with a number of significant earthquake
mitigation projects for FEMA. Working with key personnel at
USGS, Hayes helped develop the seismic provisions for the
American Society of Civil Engineers’ ASCE 7-05 standard
and a new Department of Defense tri-services seismic design
manual.
Hayes
holds a bachelor of science degree from the Virginia Military
Institute, a masters of engineering degree form the University
of Virginia, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, all in civil engineering. He is a registered
professional engineer in the State of Florida and the Commonwealth
of Virginia.
For further information on the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program see: http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/NEHRP/.
As a
non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department’s Technology
Administration, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial
competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards
and technology in ways that enhance economic security and
improve our quality of life.
Go
back to NIST News Page |