National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program

• ACEHR
• ICC

ACEHR Members Updated!

In August 2006, pursuant to the July 25, 2006 Federal Register Notice (PDF 60KB), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded a 30-day formal solicitation period for nominations for individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR). Stakeholders in NEHRP, from around the United States, showed strong interest in and support for NEHRP by submitting over 85 nominees for service on the committee.

Following an extensive evaluation period, William Jeffrey, then director of NIST, named 15 distinguished academic, industry, and government experts to serve on ACEHR in February 2007. In 2008, James Turner, deputy director of NIST and acting chair of the NEHRP Interagency Coordinating Committee, named three new members to fill vacancies on the committee. The August 6, 2008 Press Release is available online.

ACEHR members will serve nominal 3-year terms, with a maximum of two consecutive terms of service before having to step off the committee for a minimum of 1 year. The initial terms for the 15 original members were staggered, with members serving 1, 2, or 3 years, with possible full 3-year second terms. The 2008 appointees' terms have been matched to those of the members whom they replaced.

Walter J. Arabasz
Director, Seismograph Stations and Research Professor, Geology and Geophysics
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Term Expires: April 30, 2010

Dr. Arabasz is a member and past chair of the Utah Seismic Safety Commission and has received the Governor's Medal for Science and Technology for his "tireless efforts to help residents and leaders understand and prepare for Utah's earthquake hazards." He was one of the principal architects of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS), co-authored "An Assessment of Seismic Monitoring in the United States—Requirement for an Advanced National Seismic System," and currently serves as regional coordinator for the ANSS Intermountain West Region. He has served on numerous national and State advisory and policy-making committees, including the Committee on Seismology of the National Research Council, panels of the National Research Council, and the Council of the National Seismic System. He has degrees from Boston College and the California Institute of Technology.

James E. Beavers New Member!
Director, Construction Industry Research and Policy Center and Research Professor, Civil Engineering
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Term Expires: August 1, 2011

Dr. Beavers is a structural engineer who has specialized in natural and technological hazards during more than 35 years as a university professor, private consultant, corporate manager, author, and editor. In addition to his positions at the University of Tennessee, he serves as principal of James E. Beavers Consultants and is the founder and co-editor of Natural Hazards Review, a journal of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He formerly served as deputy director of the Mid-America Earthquake Center, as vice president for MS Technology's Natural and Technological Hazards Services Division, as director of the Center for Natural Phenomena Engineering at Martin Marietta Energy Systems, and as chairman of the board of directors for the Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC). Dr. Beavers has served on more than 80 national committees, authored or coauthored more than 200 papers, and participated in professional exchange programs with Russia, China, India, and Australia. In 2007, he received the Duke Lifeline Earthquake Engineering Award from ASCE. He has degrees in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University and the University of Missouri at Rolla.

Jonathan D. Bray
Professor, Geotechnical Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of California, Berkeley, CA
Term Expires: April 30, 2011

Dr. Bray has been a registered professional civil engineer since 1985, and he has nearly two decades of experience in teaching and performing research in the areas of geotechnical engineering, earthquake engineering, environmental geotechnics, and numerical and physical modeling. He is vice president of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and an active member of ASCE. Dr. Bray has degrees from the University of California, Stanford University, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He has received a number of honors, including the Shamsher Prakash Research Award, ASCE Huber Research Prize, Packard Foundation Fellowship, and NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award.

Richard K. Eisner, FAIA
Regional Administrator and Manager (retired), California Integrated Seismic Network and California Earthquake and Tsunami Programs
California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Oakland, CA
Term Expires: April 30, 2010

An architect, urban planner, and urban designer, Mr. Eisner, for the last 30 years, focused his career on issues of seismic design and urban earthquake hazard reduction, including serving as program manager on a NSF-funded project to develop model hazard reduction and preparedness techniques based on Japanese practice. A key element of his work as director of the Bay Area Regional Earthquake Preparedness Project was the implementation of these models and integration of knowledge from the earth- and social-science communities into mitigation and preparedness programs. In 1993, Eisner joined the team developing HAZUS, FEMA's software for estimating losses from earthquakes. He is a recognized expert in community preparedness and emergency management, and was actively involved in response and recovery operations following the Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes. His degrees are from the University of California at Berkeley.

Ronald O. Hamburger
Senior Principal, Structural Engineering West
Simpson Gumpertz and Heger, Inc., San Francisco, CA
Term Expires: April 30, 2009

Mr. Hamburger has more than 30 years of experience in design, construction, education, research, evaluation, investigation, and repair relating to commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities. He is an internationally recognized expert in performance-based structural, earthquake and blast engineering, and has played a leading role in the development of national structural engineering standards and building code provisions. Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Mr. Hamburger served as the lead investigator into the collapse of New York's twin World Trade Center towers on behalf of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE and FEMA. Since 2000, he has served as chair of the BSSC Provisions Update Committee and in that role, directs the development of recommended seismic design provisions for the Nation's building codes. He has degrees from the Polytechnic Institute of New York and the Golden Gate University.

James R. Harris
President
J.R. Harris and Company, Denver, CO
Term Expires: April 30, 2011

Well-versed in structural engineering practice and research, Dr. Harris has designed or evaluated thousands of structures ranging from dwellings to high-rise buildings, including industrial and civil engineering facilities, excavation bracing, pile and pier foundations, and renovations of historic buildings. This background spans nearly all types of construction and structural materials and includes responsibility for management of all design disciplines, structures in high-hazard seismic zones, vibration issues, and highly expansive soils. His expertise was recognized by his election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2005. In 2002, he received the Walter P. Moore, Jr., Award from the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE. He has degrees from the University of Illinois and the University of Colorado in structures.

Howard Kunreuther
Professor, Decision Sciences and Business and Public Policy and Co-Director, Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Term Expires: April 30, 2009

Dr. Howard Kunreuther is the Cecilia Yen Koo Professor of Decision Sciences and Public Policy at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and serves as co-director of the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center. He has a long-standing interest in ways that society can better manage low-probability, high-consequence events related to technological and natural hazards and has published extensively on the topic. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a distinguished fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis, receiving the society's Distinguished Achievement Award in 2001. Dr. Kunreuther has written or co-edited a number of books and papers including "Catastrophe Modeling: A New Approach to Managing Risk" (with Patricia Grossi) and "Wharton on Making Decisions" (with Stephen Hoch). He is a recipient of the Elizur Wright Award for the publication that makes the most significant contribution to the literature of insurance. He received his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Michael K. Lindell New Member!
Professor, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning and Adjunct Professor, Psychology
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Term Expires: August 1, 2010

Dr. Lindell has over 30 years of experience in the field of emergency management. He has conducted extensive research on the processes by which individuals and organizations respond to natural and technological hazards. He also has had extensive experience in assisting government agencies, industry groups, and corporations with the development of emergency plans and procedures. In addition to his positions at Texas A&M University, he serves as editor of the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters. He formerly served as director of the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center at Texas A&M University, as associate director of the Institute for Crisis and Disaster Management at George Washington University, as a research scientist for the Battelle Human Affairs Research Centers, and as an adjunct faculty member at FEMA's National Emergency Training Center. Dr. Lindell has spoken extensively for conferences, workshops, and short courses, and has authored or coauthored 10 books and some 160 journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports. He has degrees in social/quantitative psychology and psychology from the University of Colorado.

Thomas D. O'Rourke
Professor of Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Term Expires: April 30, 2009

Dr. O'Rourke has been a member of the teaching and research staffs at Cornell University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His teaching and professional practice covers geotechnical engineering, earthquake engineering, underground construction technologies, engineering for large, geographically distributed systems, and geographic information technologies and database management. Dr. O'Rourke has chaired or served as a member of the consulting boards for many large underground construction projects, as well as of the peer review panels for projects associated with highway, rapid transit, water supply, and energy distribution systems. He was president of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute in 2003–2004. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1993 and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2000. He has received numerous professional awards and holds degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Cornell University.

Chris D. Poland (ACEHR Chairperson)
Structural Engineer and Senior Principal, Chairman, President, and CEO
Degenkolb Engineers, San Francisco, CA
Term Expires: April 30, 2010

Mr. Poland, a registered civil and structural engineer, has worked as an advisor on government programs for earthquake hazard mitigation and as an effective leader in related professional activities for more than 30 years. His professional experience includes projects of all construction types, ranging from new design to seismic retrofit and rehabilitation and historic preservation. Through his personal advocacy and leadership skills, Mr. Poland has promoted and advanced earthquake hazard reduction in California and nationwide. In 2006, he was awarded the California Earthquake Safety Foundation's Alquist Medal for his significant contributions to earthquake safety in California and in other earthquake-prone areas of the United States. Mr. Poland has also made substantial contributions in the advancement of structural and earthquake engineering practice. He served as a founding co-chair of the NEHRP Coalition for Seismic Safety and chaired the ASCE Standards Committee on Seismic Rehabilitation and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Structural Safety. He has degrees from Stanford University and the University of Redlands.

Paul Somerville
Principal Seismologist and Manager, Seismic Hazards Group
URS Corporation, Pasadena, CA
Term Expires: April 30, 2011

For the past 30 years, Dr. Somerville has worked at URS Corporation and its predecessor organization, Woodward-Clyde Consultants, and he has been manager of the firm's Pasadena office for the past 12 years. He has worked on many aspects of seismic hazards, and has been involved in the development of innovative seismological methods for specifying seismic design ground motions in earthquake engineering practice. Dr. Somerville has extensive research experience in Japan, where he pioneered the development of commonly used procedures for characterizing earthquake sources for the prediction of strong ground motion. He has been actively involved in the development of building codes and led developments in the engineering characterization of near-fault ground motions. He has degrees from the University of British Columbia, the University of New England, and Sydney University.

Anne R. vonWeller
Chief Building Official
Bountiful, UT
Term Expires: April 30, 2009

Ms. vonWeller is the chief building official for Murray City, Utah. She is a past president and former chairman of the board of directors of the International Code Council. Ms. vonWeller was the first woman in Utah to successfully complete all of the licensing requirements for general contractors in 1977. She has been a building official for the last 23 years. Her commitment to building safety and interest in construction code development resulted in her service as chairman of the Utah Uniform Building Codes Commission, as co-chairman of the Utah Seismic Safety Commission, and as a member of the Uniform Building Code Fire and Life Safety Committee, and the International Building Code Means of Egress Drafting Committee. Ms. vonWeller has taught numerous classes on construction regulation, authored articles for Building Standards magazine, and authored the Residential Plan Review Manual for the State of Utah. She has served as a director for both the International Conference of Building Officials and the International Code Council.

Yumei Wang
Geotechnical Engineer and Geohazards Team Leader
Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Portland, OR
Term Expires: April 30, 2009

Ms. Wang is a geotechnical engineer at the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, where she is responsible for geologic hazards and risk assessments, and for developing risk mitigation strategies for the State of Oregon. In 13 years with State government, her work has focused on improving assessment of and lowering risk from earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides. In 2000, she served a 1-year term as a congressional fellow in the U.S. Senate in Washington, DC. She has been the lead advocate on nine successful earthquake safety bills, and has helped shape State and Federal policies in her areas of expertise and on issues relating to the environment, energy, and transportation. Ms. Wang previously worked as a private consultant. She holds degrees from the University of California at Santa Barbara and Berkeley.

Sharon L. Wood
Robert L. Parker, Sr. Professor in Engineering, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
University of Texas at Austin
Term Expires: April 30, 2010

Dr. Wood studies the behavior of reinforced concrete structures. She has investigated the response of various types of buildings following the 1985 Chile, 1994 Northridge, and 1999 Turkey earthquakes. The goal of Dr. Wood's research is to reduce the likelihood of building collapse in future earthquakes. Currently, she is investigating the influence of soil-foundation-structure interaction on seismic bridge response and developing innovative sensors for detecting damage in civil engineering infrastructure. She currently serves on the Advisory Committee on Structural Safety for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She has served on the Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee for USGS and is a former chair of the National Steering Committee for ANSS within USGS. Dr. Wood has degrees in civil engineering from the University of Illinois and University of Virginia.

Brent H. Woodworth New Member!
President and CEO
Global Crisis Services, Inc., Calabasas, CA
Term Expires: June 15, 2011

Mr. Woodworth is president and CEO of Global Crisis Services, Inc. He is the founder of "The Crisis Response Team," an international disaster preparedness and response team that has responded to over 70 major natural and man-made crisis events in 49 countries. Mr. Woodworth consults on a global basis with business leaders, elected officials, and heads of state on comprehensive risk and disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery operations. He has placed a special focus on building collaborative support for global humanitarian relief operations and has coordinated efforts with United Nations organizations, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, private-sector businesses, and government leaders. Mr. Woodworth is chairman of the Disaster Recovery Institute and the Multihazard Mitigation Council. He is also on the board of the National Institute of Building Sciences.

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