Message from the President

mary comerio 2015Welcome to The Pulse of Earthquake Engineering, the bi-weekly email newsletter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
— Mary C. Comerio, EERI President

 

Search The Pulse

News of the Institute

Chris Poland to be Awarded Housner Medal More >

Annual Meeting Session Preview: Liquefaction Assessment and Mitigation Techniques More >

Learning from Earthquakes

Central Italy Earthquake Briefing Webinar Now Available More >

Reconnaissance Reports on Ecuador Earthquake Released More >

News of the Profession

Links to Recent News and Views More >

Announcements

Employment Opportunity: EERI Membership and Communications Manager More >

Reminder: 2016 Shah Family Innovation Prize Nominations By Nov 15 More >

Augered Cast-In-Place & Drilled Displacement Piles Seminar on Nov 10 More >

1st International Conference on Infrastructure Resilience, February 14-16, 2018 More >

Rutherford + Chekene has Two Structural Engineer Openings More >

Publications

Earthquake Spectra: Preprint Manuscripts More >

Student Spotlight

New University of Washington Student Chapter More >

Member Spotlight

Renew your EERI Membership for 2017 More >

Welcome New EERI Members More >

Social Links

EERI's Facebook profile  EERI's LinkedIn group  EERI's YouTube channel  twitter  vimeo  rss

Tell Us Your Thoughts

Submit your questions regarding The Pulse of Earthquake Engineering at pulse@eeri.org. You may also submit your content for consideration at pulse@eeri.org.

The Pulse is sent on the first and fifteenth day of each month (or the first business day after). Please contact us if you don't receive these issues.

 

 

News of the Institute

Chris Poland to be Awarded Housner Medal

chrispolandChris Poland (M. EERI, 1978), a practicing structural engineer whose career includes a wide range of professional activity spanning structural design, public policy, advocacy, and service to EERI and the profession, will be presented with the George W. Housner Medal for 2017. The Housner Medal is awarded to recognize Institute members and others who have made extraordinary and lasting contributions to public earthquake safety through the development and application of earthquake hazard reduction practices and policies.

Poland’s design work includes seismic analysis and strengthening of existing buildings, structural failure analysis, and historic preservation. After serving as President, CEO, and Chairman at Degenkolb Engineers, Poland left in 2014 to pursue a specialized consulting practice aimed at community resilience and the buildings and systems that contribute to it. He brings a broad, multidisciplinary approach to reducing risk and promoting disaster resilience that reflects the necessity to look beyond the physical environment to include the social, economic and cultural fabric of our cities.

He has represented the profession in testimony to Congress supporting the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and is a passionate seismic safety advocate at the local, state and national levels. He served as the first Chair of the Advisory Committee to NEHRP, responsible for evaluating and advising the earthquake programs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Science Foundation. He currently serves as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Structural Safety of Department of Veterans Affairs Facilities.

Poland's energy and vision in raising public awareness to the risk of earthquakes has had a lasting impact on California and the nation. He served as Chair of the 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference in San Francisco in April 2006; the Chair of the American Society of Civil Engineers Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings Standards Committee, which completed both ASCE 31 and ASCE 41; Chairman of the California Strong Motion Advisory Committee, and Member of the Advisory Committee of the California Integrated Seismic Network. He is engaged in innovative local initiatives as a member of the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), where he co-chairs their Resilient City Initiative. He acted as lead in drafting the publication The Disaster Resilient City, a comprehensive plan now being implemented to promote the resilience of the structural, social and 85 economic elements of the City to reduce risk and improve response and recovery from future disasters.

Inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2009, Poland is also a Fellow of the American Council of Engineering Companies and the American Society of Civil Engineers Structural Engineering Institute, as well as an Honorary member of the Structural Engineers Association of California and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. Chris served as President of the EERI Board of Directors in 1999-2000.

The presentation of the George W. Housner Medal to Chris Poland will take place at the 69th EERI Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, on March 9, 2017.

Annual Meeting Session Preview: Liquefaction Assessment and Mitigation Techniques

2017-mtgThe 2017 EERI Annual Meeting will feature two breakout sessions on liquefaction, ground deformation, and landslides. Academics and practitioners will discuss new developments on seismically-induced soil liquefaction, covering topics related to characterization of liquefaction and mitigation of liquefaction consequences on structures.

Included in the sessions will be updates on the National Research Council project on the state of the art and practice in earthquake-induced soil liquefaction assessment; updates on the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center's Next Generation Liquefaction Models; and a presentation on bio-remediated soils as a liquefaction mitigation technique.

Registration will open in early December for the EERI Annual Meeting in Portland on March 7-10, 2017

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Learning from Earthquakes

Central Italy Earthquake Briefing Webinar Now Available

central-italy-webinar

The October 28, 2016 webinar briefing that shared findings from reconnaissance activities conducted after the Central Italy earthquake of August 24, 2016 is now available for viewing on the Central Italy Earthquake Virtual Clearinghouse:

http://www.eqclearinghouse.org/2016-08-24-italy/2016/10/21/italy-earthquake-webinar-briefing-on-october-28-2016/external link icon

The briefing was a collaboration of NSF-sponsored Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association (GEER), Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), B. John Garrick Institute for Risk Sciences at UCLA, Rete dei Laboratori Universitari di Ingegneria Sismica (ReLUIS), Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, and Eucentre Foundation. Held at the CNSI auditorium on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, the event was sponsored by GEER, EERI, B. John Garrick Risk Institute, PEER (Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center), and UCLA International Institute.

Reconnaissance Reports on Ecuador Earthquake Released

ecuador-reportTwo new special reports on the M7.8 Muisne, Ecuador Earthquake on April 16, 2016, are now available for download.

The EERI Earthquake Reconnaissance Team's ninety-page report describes the findings of a seven-member international team sent by EERI’s Learning from Earthquakes program from May 9—13, 2016 to investigate building practices, building damage (including hospital damage) as well as tagging and shoring issues. A chapter on geotechnical damage is included from the Geotechnical Extreme Event Reconnaissance (GEER) and Applied Technology Council (ATC) team, while the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) contributed information on structural damage and a separate appendix on the earthquake refugee camps.

Download the EERI Earthquake Reconnaissance Team Report (10 MB PDF) external link icon

Forrest Lanning (M. EERI, 2009) led the EERI team composed of structural engineers from both practice and academia.

geer-reportAlso now available is the full report of the findings by the team formed of members from the Applied Technology Council (ATC) and the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

The event and its aftershocks led to hundreds of fatalities, thousands of injuries, tens of thousands of people homeless, serious damage and collapses to buildings and infrastructure, and economic impact estimated at 3% of the national GDP. The GEER-ATC reconnaissance team that visited the most affected areas documented the geotechnical, structural and nonstructural performance of the natural and built environment in this report. The reconnaissance has yielded datasets, lessons, and suggestions for future research.

Download the GEER/ATC report from the GEER website external link icon

The EERI reconnaissance team previously produced a series of videos featuring presentations in different topic areas by members of the team that visited Ecuador in May, as well as a presentation by GEER/ATC’s co-team leader. Briefing videos can be watched individually or in a series:

Watch the EERI Ecuador Briefing Videos external link icon

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News of the Profession

Links to Recent News and Views

Ten recent stories, reports, or opinions from around the Web:

one6.6-magnitude Norcia, Italy tremor destroys ancient buildings (BBC) 20 injured in Italy's strongest quake in decades. bbc.com external link icon

twoThe effort to save Italy’s earthquake-damaged art and architecture (Apollo) Architects, engineers. and art historians form crisis units after Central Italy quakes. apollo-magazine.com external link icon

threeUSGS maps for central U.S. overstate earthquake hazard (Phys.Org) Kentucky Geological Survey concludes national earthquake hazard maps overstate the hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. phys.org external link icon

fourAfter Hurricane, Haiti Confronts Scars From 2010 Earthquake Recovery (New York Times) Lessons to keep Haiti from becoming "a population perverted by aid, rather than propelled by it." nytimes.com external link icon

fiveB.C. Earthquake Threatens Vancouver Buildings (The Province) More than once, the city has failed to act on its own recommendations for addressing the seismic dangers of older private buildings. theprovince.com external link icon

sixIt’s Official: Injection of Fracking Wastewater Caused Kansas’ Biggest Earthquake (Global Research) USGS says 4.9 magnitude temblor in 2014 linked to wastewater injection. globalresearch.ca external link icon

sevenFuture buildings could ‘sense’ internal damage after earthquake, says research (IndiaTV) Scientists at MIT have built a computational model to monitor a building over time for signs of damage or mechanical stress. indiatvnews.com external link icon

eightDevelopers of sinking S.F. tower alter design for new building (SFGate) San Francisco city officials wonder about seismic resilience of tower foundations that don't reach bedrock. sfgate.com external link icon

oneTowards resilient non-engineered construction (ReliefWeb) A guide for risk-informed policy-making from UNESCO. reliefweb.int external link icon

tenMapping Europe’s earthquake risk (Horizon) Researchers at the EU-funded SHARE project have produced a map displaying which parts of Europe are most at risk from an earthquake. horizon-magazine.eu external link icon

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Announcements

Employment Opportunity: EERI Membership and Communications Manager

eeri logo 75EERI seeks a creative and experienced association professional to become its Membership and Communications Manager. This person will be a primary liaison with the Institute’s 2,800 members with lead responsibility for membership retention and recruitment campaigns. The Membership and Communications Manager will also be responsible for planning, developing and implementing an integrated communications and public relations plan to increase the overall branding, visibility and reach of the Institute.

The Membership and Communications Manager will be self-motivated, flexible, a great communicator and enthusiastic team player. An interest in or willingness to learn more about earthquake engineering and global hazards risk reduction is essential. Some travel required. The starting salary is $70,000 to $75,000, and is based on qualifications and experience.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 3, 2016
Candidates should send a letter of interest and resume with supporting qualifications to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. All applications will be kept in confidence. No calls please.

Membership and Communications Manager Opportunity Flyer (PDF)

Please share this job announcement with qualified individuals.

Reminder: 2016 Shah Family Innovation Prize Nominations By Nov 15

2016-Shah-Header
Do you know a young academic or professional making a difference in reducing global earthquake risk? EERI members are encouraged to nominate candidates from government, private firms, academia, and the international community for the 2016 Shah Family Innovation Prize.

The Shah Family Innovation Prize was created with a substantial gift to the EERI Endowment Fund by the Haresh C. Shah family of Stanford, California. The intent of the prize is to stimulate further creativity and leadership in the earthquake risk mitigation community and EERI.

The selection process recognizes a combination of past accomplishments and future potential, emphasizing creative and innovative thinkers who have demonstrated at early stages in their careers the potential to make major contributions. EERI membership is not required for either the nominator or candidate, although it is strongly encouraged. Candidates must be less than 35 years of age on January 1, 2017.

Submit your nominations for the Shah Family Innovation Prize online by November 15, 2016 at https://www.eeri.org/cohost/registration/2016-shah-prize-nominations external link icon

For more information about the required nomination package, selection criteria, and past winners, visit https://www.eeri.org/about-eeri/honors-awards/shah-family-innovation-prize/ external link icon

The 2016 Shah Family Innovation Prize Selection Committee: Patricia Grossi, Independent Consultant (Chair); Jack Baker, Stanford University; Stacy Bartoletti, Degenkolb Engineers; Glenn Rix, Geosyntec Consultants; and Emily So, University of Cambridge.

Augered Cast-In-Place & Drilled Displacement Piles Seminar on Nov 10

dfiThe Deep Foundations Institute's Augered Cast-In-Place & Drilled Displacement Piles Specialty Seminar will take place on Thursday, November 10, 2016, at Newport Beach Marriott Bayview in Newport Beach, California.

Presentations focus on the design, installation methods and quality control and assurance of ACIP Piles and Drilled Displacement (DD) Piles. The morning session is a short course on the history, process and design of these pile systems while the afternoon features industry professionals presenting case histories which highlight the wide variety of applications for which ACIP and DD Piles are specified and used. The day will close with a networking reception. Register at http://www.dfi.org/dfieventlp.asp?13288external link icon

1st International Conference on Infrastructure Resilience, February 14-16, 2018

infrastructureThe first International Conference on Infrastructure Resilience will be held at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, February 14-18, 2016. The conference is organized by the Singapore-ETH Centre Future Resilient Systems program. Infrastructure systems are a compound of engineered, operating organizations and user subsystems. Resilient infrastructure systems are able to provide flows of services, even if assumptions about the environment or system’s behavior become invalid. In this conference, resilience will be addressed form socio-technical systems standpoint.

For more information on the conference, including conference topics and key dates, visit http://resilienceconference.ethz.ch external link icon

Rutherford + Chekene has Two Structural Engineer Openings

rc-logoRutherford + Chekene (EERI Bronze Subscribing Member) an award-winning structural and geotechnical engineering firm established in 1960, seeks a Senior Project Manager (SE) and a Staff Engineer for salaried, full-time positions in San Francisco, California.

Read more about the positions and the firm at http://www.lockeandkey.com/jobs/JobOpenings/job_opening_167.php external link icon

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Publications

Earthquake Spectra: Preprint Manuscripts

spectra 150Two preprint manuscripts have been posted to the Earthquake Spectra website prior to formal publication. The papers to be published are:

  • "Evaluation of Out-of-Plane Wall Anchorage Force Provisions in Buildings with Rigid Walls and Flexible Roof Diaphragms" by Maria Koliou (M. EERI, 2009), John Lawson (M. EERI, 1985), Andre Filiatrault (M. EERI, 1986), and Dominic J. Kelly (M. EERI, 2001)

  • "Seismic Damage Indicating Parameters at Nuclear Power Plants Affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Plant Shutdown Criteria" by Fred F. Grant (M. EERI, 2011), Yuchuan Tang (M. EERI, 2016), Greg S. Hardy (M. EERI, 2009), and Robert Kassawara (M. EERI, 1987)

To read all current preprint manuscripts posted, visit Earthquake Spectra preprints. external link icon

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Student Spotlight

New University of Washington Student Chapter

uw

EERI is pleased to introduce the new student chapter established at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. The chapter's faculty advisor is Paolo Calvi (M. EERI, 2016), Assistant Professor in the Civil Engineering Department. The local professional contact is Erica Fischer (M. EERI, 2010) from Degenkolb Engineers. Elected officers include Andrew Sen (President, M. EERI, 2016), Alex Grant (Vice President, M. EERI, 2016), and Nasser Marafi (Secretary, M. EERI, 2014).

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Member Spotlight

Renew your EERI Membership for 2017

renew your eeri membershipOn October 27, 2016, all EERI members (except student and honorary members) were sent via email the first membership renewal notice for 2017. The email message provides a link to their personal renewal page showing contact information with options for selecting chapter membership and making a voluntary contribution to the EERI Endowment Fund.

If you did not receive this message, or are having trouble logging in to your membership record, please e-mail Membership Coordinator Juliane Lane at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We hope you will continue to support EERI and renew your membership for 2017.

Together, we can reduce earthquake risk for our communities.

Welcome New EERI Members

EERI welcomes the members who have recently joined the Institute. If you wish to connect with your fellow members, you can locate their contact information in the EERI online membership directory, which requires logging in to the Member Resources Area of the EERI website.

STUDENT MEMBERS
Saman Abdullah, UCLA
Susana Amaral, Northeastern University
Lenard Ambrus, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Civil
Marcos Aria-Hodgehenry, Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra
Santiago Arrangoiz-Arriola, Stanford University
Abhinav Bindal, Stanford University
Coleman Blakely, University of Notre Dame, Civil
Ana Maria Bogdan, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Civil
Tudor Bucovineanu, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Civil
Diana Canta, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Architect
Jiawei Chen, UC Berkeley
Peng-Yu Chen, UCLA, Civil
Ali Copuroglu, Istanbul Teknik Universitesi, Civil
Bogdan Cucos, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Civil
Karl Eid, UC Berkeley
Kyle Ellsworth, Stanford University
John Engel, UC Davis
Islam M.R.M.H. Farrag, University of California, Irvine
Mahmoud Faytarouni, Iowa State University
Ben Flanagan, University of Notre Dame, Civil
Alejandro Finol, Cornell University, Architect
Cosmin Furdui, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Architect
Josias Galan, San Francisco State University, Civil
Selena Gray, San Francisco State University, Civil
Zhendong Guo, Stanford University
Joseph Hill, Portland State University, Civil
Josh Hoekstra, McMaster University, Civil
Guardi Jain, Cornell University, Mechanical
Darshit Jasani, Stanford University
Wilma Jerez-Ortiz, Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, Civil
Alan Kanybek, Purdue University, Civil
Derek Kozak, University of Illinois
Yi Li, Purdue University, Civil
Sabine Loos, Stanford University
Victor Luna, Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, Civil
Liyang Ma, Lehigh University
Gerald Macaspac, San Francisco State University, Civil
John Mackail, Virginia Tech
Saranjan Mahadevan, McMaster University
Elvis Mamani, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru
Mark Anthony Manalo, San Francisco State University
Lucian-Ionut Marin, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Civil
Paolo Martuscelli, UC Berkeley
Muriel Naguit, Australian National University, Seismologist
Daniel Narvaez, UC Irvine, Civil
Bryanna Noade, McMaster University, Civil
Aditya Pandey, UC Berkeley
Marcos Paniagua, Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, Civil
Athul Parayancode, UC San Diego, Civil
Freshta Pirzada, UC Davis, Civil
Miriam-Claudia Pop, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Architect
Meghna Prasad, Virginia Tech, Health Science
Meshael Rahman, McMaster University, Civil
Pearl Ranchal, UC Berkeley
Luca Rares, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Civil
Wendy Reyes, Virginia Tech, Civil
Andrei Rosca, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Civil
Fendy Setiawan, UC Berkeley
Seyedamirali Shojaeiandivkolaei, Lehigh University, Civil
Ayush Singhania, Stanford University
Haris Softic, UC Davis, Civil
Anamaria Sovre, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Architect
Ryan Stevens, Virginia Tech
Nick Stone, UC Davis, Civil
Jonathon (Tsun-Ming) Sze, Portland State University, Civil
Christopher Tahara, Virginia Tech, Civil
Gin Ung, UC Davis, Civil
Levente Veres, Technical University of Cluj – Napoca, Civil
Zoe Yin, University of Texas – Austin, Seismologist

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