In an EERI-funded earthquake simulation performed in March at the University of Nevado, Reno, a straw bale house "performed exceptionally well, " according to Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building (PAKSBAB) CEO Darcey Donovan.  She went on to explain, "The input motion was the Canoga Park Topanga Canyon record of the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake, Mw 6.7.  The house was subjected to increasing levels of seismic shaking, beginning at 25% of the recorded ground acceleration and increasing at 25% increments until failure.  The house survived 0.82g, twice the acceleration of the Canoga Park record."  For more details, read the article in Science Daily .  This research was also supported by NEES, the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation .

The Organizing Committee for the 9th U.S. National and 10th Canadian Conference on Earthquake Engineering , to be held in Toronto, Canada July 25 - 29, 2010, invites you to submit an abstract. Abstracts (500 words or less) must be submitted online at submissions.miracd.com/2010eqconf by March 31, 2009 extended to April 15, 2009.

Download 2nd Announcement (270kB)

Seattle - Sept 2 • Oakland - Sept 3 • Salt Lake City - Sept 10 • Los Angeles - Sept 11

The seminar, to be given in 4 cities, will be of interest to both structural and geotechnical engineers who want to understand how the recently developed NGA models can be put into practice.

0.7 CEUs (Continuing Education Units) will be awarded to participants upon completion of the seminar. A permanent record of CEU credits will be maintained at the EERI office. 

The Shamsher Prakash Foundation is soliciting nominations for the 2009 SP Research Award, which is given to a young (less than 40 years old) engineer, scientist, or researcher from anywhere in the world. Candidates should be specialists in geotechnical engineering or geotechnical earthquake engineering, have had significant independent contributions to the field, and show promise of future excellence. The award includes a cash prize of $1,100.

Nominations are due on or before May 31, 2009. All nominations will be reviewed by a judging committee of international experts from Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The award will be announced by September 30, 2009. 

For information on submitting nominations, visit www.yoga10.org .

Three of the authors of Guidelines for Earthquake-Resistant Non-Engineered Construction, published in 1986 by the International Association for Earthquake Engineering , are bringing together a group in IAEE, including the original authors who are willing to participate and new contributors who are willing to join the effort, to revise these Guidelines. Since there are no funds allocated for this purpose, the revision will be mainly done by e-mail. Some group members may meet at some point during an international or national meeting. The goal is to finish the revision by 2010 and report on it at the 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering in Portugal in 2012.

If you are interested in participating in the working group, please contact one of the three initiating authors: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (India), This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Indonesia), or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Japan). The participation of young professionals, researchers, and academics is encouraged. 

A $3.4 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop monitoring and inspection systems for the nation's aging highway bridges has been awarded to an engineering team from EERI Subscribing Member Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, The University of Texas at Austin, and National Instruments. The grant will allow for the development of two wireless network systems that together address a critical issue for bridge safety: the monitoring of cracks or defects and corrosion in key structural components. Matching funds will bring the five-year research project's budget total to approximately $6.8 million.