Earthquake Research
Institutions and Programs
The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) is a partnership of organizations that have the common goal of keeping us safe from the earthquake hazard. The ultimate goal of all of the activities conducted by the NEHRP agencies and their partners is to reduce earthquake losses across the Nation. The foundation for nearly all of these activities is research.
The organizations involved in earthquake risk reduction activities range from engineering-based professional organizations, private sector organizations, universities, and building code organizations to organizations supported by one or more of the four NEHRP agencies.
Institutions
- Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI)
Founded in 1949, EERI is a national, nonprofit technical society of engineers, geoscientists, architects, planners, public officials, and social scientists.
- Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER)
The goal of MCEER, which is housed at the State University of New York at Buffalo, is to enhance the seismic resiliency of communities through improved engineering and management tools for critical infrastructure. MCEER maintains a clearinghouse of earthquake publications and resources on its website.
- Mid-America Earthquake Center (MAE)
Headquartered at the University of Illinois, MAE is a consortium of eight core institutions. MAE projects fall under core research, stakeholder research, education, and outreach.
- Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center (NHRAIC)
Located at the University of Colorado in Boulder, NHRAIC is a national and international clearinghouse that was founded to strengthen communication among researchers and the individuals and organizations concerned with mitigating natural disasters. The Center is funded by NSF, FEMA, USGS, and other federal agencies and organizations involved with natural disasters.
- Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER)
The University of California at Berkeley PEER Center focuses on areas west of the Rocky Mountains and emphasizes performance-based design in its research programs.
- Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC)
Headquartered at the University of Southern California, SCEC is funded jointly by NSF and USGS. A major goal of SCEC is to quantify earthquake hazards by integrating data and theory into a geographic database that supports hazard reduction decisions.
Programs
- Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS)
In 2000, Congress authorized the upgrade of the seismic monitoring networks in the United States through the implementation of ANSS. The primary goals of ANSS are to unify, modernize, and expand earthquake monitoring equipment and activities in the United States. An important emphasis of ANSS is improved monitoring in metropolitan areas in regions of high-to-moderate seismic risk.
- George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES)
NSF and the earthquake engineering community created NEES in response to a congressional mandate (NEHRP Reauthorization Act of 1994) to improve earthquake engineering research and education. NEES research will enable engineers to develop better and more cost-effective ways of mitigating earthquake damage through the innovative use of new designs, materials, construction techniques, and monitoring tools.
Last Modified: Friday, 05-Oct-2007 11:41:54 EDT
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