News of the Institute

Leadership Communique From Heidi Tremayne

With all the significant changes underway in the U.S. federal government, EERI is feeling some initial impacts. Under the U.S. National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), EERI has a FEMA grant that supports our work to:

• Disseminate critical knowledge through our webinars, Oral History series and other events that advance the field and practice of earthquake engineering and related fields.
• Provide vital learning, networking and development opportunities for early career individuals to promote their study in earthquake risk reduction and to help them become the experts of the future.
• Prepare for future earthquake response and clearinghouse deployment to ensure that reconnaissance is coordinated to glean valuable lessons and identify future needs for research and practice.
  EERI’s grant, along with other FEMA NEHRP grants, is currently under additional review. This pause creates uncertainty for these efforts.

In the short term, we are working to minimize impacts to our members and essential activities of the Institute by finding short-term solutions that avoid disruption of programs currently underway, like the 2025 Seismic Design Competition scheduled to start on March 31. As we look to the future, we may need to consider shrinking some of our programs if the federal funding landscape remains uncertain and diminished.

We know we are not alone, and have heard from many members who are also experiencing impacts from the changes underway. Our Public Policy and Advocacy Committee (PPA) is working to gather more information so we can make a stronger case about the importance of earthquake science and engineering practice to legislators and government leaders. Please share your own current or anticipated impacts here and join the PPA to help in these efforts.

In this time of uncertainty, public advocacy for earthquake risk reduction is more important than ever. EERI and our members have an essential voice. The PPA has drafted an advocacy letter to demonstrate the importance of work by our federal agencies, and EERI leaders and committee members are sharing it with many federal decision makers. Soon, we will be sharing more information on how you can also contact federal leaders to elevate our concerns.

I hope that you realize that your support of EERI through your membership is more important than ever. Your membership shows your confidence in our work and mission, and your membership dues also provide critical resources to help us maintain our focus on earthquake resilience during these turbulent times.

Now is a great time to show your support for EERI and pride in being a member. I encourage each of you to think of two colleagues who are essential partners in your work on earthquake risk reduction. Please take a moment to log in to your membership account and check the member directory to see if they are active members of EERI. If not, please send them an email and encourage them to join or recommit to EERI in 2025 by becoming a member.

Thank you for your continued membership. I appreciate and share your commitment to community action to building a more earthquake-resilient future.

Heidi Tremayne
Executive Director

2024 Outstanding Paper Award: Eyitayo Opabola and Kenneth Elwood

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) is pleased to announce that the 2024 Outstanding Paper Award has been awarded to Eyitayo Opabola and Kenneth Elwood for their paper “Seismic design of concrete structures for damage control,” published in Earthquake Spectra, Vol. 40, No. 3 (August 2024). The Outstanding Paper Award recognizes authors of Earthquake Spectra papers judged to be outstanding contributions to earthquake hazard mitigation. Papers must have made a significant impact on the profession, provided a significant advance in the state-of-the-art or understanding of a particular topic, be of exceptional technical quality with concise and informative illustrations, and be well-written for a broad audience.

According to the award citation, “Opabola and Elwood address a critical gap between current building codes and society's expectations for post-earthquake recovery…The paper's approach of simplifying performance-based concepts into design criteria while maintaining technical rigor represents the kind of research needed to advance earthquake-resistant design and meet societal expectations.”

Eyitayo (Tayo) Opabola (M.EERI 2020) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on the design and evaluation of civil infrastructure under extreme loading conditions.

Tayo obtained his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He earned his B.E. in Civil Engineering and M.S. in Structural Mechanics from Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Russia. He was the recipient of the 2023 EERI Shah Family Innovation Award.

Kenneth (Ken) Elwood (M.EERI 1994) is a Professor at the University of Auckland and currently serves as Chief Engineer (Building Resilience) for New Zealand Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment and the Natural Hazards Commission. He is involved in research and provides policy advice in relation to the seismic risk of existing buildings and design of new buildings. Ken received his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002, M.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995, and BASc from the University of British Columbia in 1993.

Ken has previously served on the EERI Board of Directors and as Chair of the EERI Learning from Earthquakes Committee. He was the 2022 EERI Distinguished Lecturer.

For more information about the Outstanding Paper Award, visit the EERI awards and honors page here.

Jingwen He Receives 2024 Graduate Student Paper Prize

EERI is pleased to announce that the 2024 Graduate Student Paper Prize has been awarded to Jingwen He and Ellen Rathje for their paper “Seismic capacity models for earth dams and their use in developing fragility curves," published in Earthquake Spectra Vol. 40, No. 3. The award recognizes a paper published in Earthquake Spectra that has a graduate student as the first author. According to the prize committee, the paper's "statistical approach to determine capacity curves from a robust dataset of earthquake case histories was unique, and filled a void in the literature. Furthermore, the application of performance-based methodologies for fragility analysis of earth dams was considered a new and novel application...[and] the paper was well-written such that its outcomes are clearly articulated to a wide audience." 

Jingwen He (M.EERI 2023) is a geotechnical engineer at ExxonMobil in Spring, Texas, with expertise in earthquake engineering and soil liquefaction. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, where she worked with Professor Ellen Rathje on developing fragility curves for earth dams using ground motions from both induced and tectonic earthquakes. The awarded paper originated from her research work. During her four years graduate school experience at UT Austin, Jingwen was able to attend EERI lectures organized by the EERI Student Chapter of UT Austin and network with other students with similar interest in earthquake engineering. Since joining ExxonMobil, Jingwen has worked on onshore, nearshore and deep water geotechnical projects and enjoys working on various challenging projects globally while learning more about geotechnical engineering. Jingwen feels greatly honored to receive this award, and she is committed to continuous learning and growth in geotechnical engineering. 

Ishika N. Chowdhury (M.EERI 2017) was awarded an Honorable Mention for her paper “Implications of input ground-motion selection techniques on site response analyses for different tectonic settings,” published in Earthquake Spectra Vol. 40, No. 2 (pp. 1521-1551).

For more information about the Graduate Student Paper Prize, visit the EERI awards and honors page here.

 

Sponsor the 2025 SDC Shaking Day Livestream!

The 2025 Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition (3/31-4/3) at UC Berkeley will be live-streamed on Shaking Day, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. EERI is seeking a live-stream sponsor for $7,500. Help us demonstrate these students' ingenuity to nearly 10,000 viewers and achieve excellent visibility for your organization.

Benefits include:

• Logo recognition on live-stream invites and access website
• Logo in bottom right of live-stream for duration
• Regular verbal recognition throughout the event by the moderators
• Recognition on SDC website and in social media posts

Contact Heidi Tremayne (heidi@eeri.org) to learn more and express your interest.

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Webinars

2025 Annual Business Meeting

March 20, 2025
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
REGISTER HERE

EERI's 2025 Annual Business Meeting will be held via Zoom webinar on Thursday, March 20 at 11:00 AM. Outgoing EERI President Janiele Maffei, President-Elect Ellen Rathje, and Secretary/Treasurer Keith Knudsen will present on EERI's activities and achievements in 2024 and discuss plans for the future. All EERI members may register to attend the meeting.

Spectra Showcase: February 2025 Issue Highlights

March 27, 2025
12:00 - 1:00 PM Pacific Time
REGISTER HERE

Join us for the latest in this EERI webinar series showcasing papers of interest from each new issue of Earthquake Spectra! This webinar will feature two papers from the February 2025 issue: "Seismic loss comparison for buildings designed with ductile steel seismic force-resisting systems and with controlled rocking braced frames," and “Southern California basin and non-basin classification algorithm for ground-motion site amplification model applications.”

Authors Lydell Wiebe and Chukwuebuka Nweke will present the papers and respond to questions from participants, and Spectra Associate Editor Kishor Jaiswal will moderate the webinar.

EERI members who attend the webinar will receive a one-hour PDH credit.

Webinar Series: 2023 National Seismic Hazard Model

April 30 and May 7, 2025
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time
REGISTER HERE

Join EERI and USGS for a two-part webinar series focusing on the 2023 update of the United States National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM). The 2023 NSHM is a comprehensive assessment of seismic hazard for all 50 states—it refines the previous model for the continental U.S. published in 2018 and integrates the first updates for Alaska since 2007 and for Hawaii since 1998. Earthquake Spectra recently launched an open-access special collection of NSHM papers here. The NSHM incorporates new science on seismicity statistics, fault ruptures, ground motions, and probabilistic techniques, and aims to produce a standard of practice for public policy and engineering applications.

The first webinar, on Wednesday April 30, will provide an overview of the science that went into the 2023 NSHM, including earthquake rupture forecasts, ground-motion characterization, and hazard modeling changes. The second webinar, on Wednesday May 7, will look at the engineering uses, including building code adoption, design ground motion standard, geohazards design guidelines, and earthquake loss estimates.

Both webinars will take place from 11:00 AM-12:30 PM. Registering for the series will allow you to attend either or both sessions.

To register for this free webinar, you will need to sign into your account on EERI’s new member portal. Non-members can register for the webinar by creating a free my.eeri.org account. Click the Register to Attend button on the event page and select the "create an account" option. Please contact us at eeri@eeri.org if you have any questions about the process.

Part 1: Overview and Hazard Modeling
April 30, 2025

Speakers:

Jack Baker, Stanford: Opening Remarks
Mark Petersen, USGS: A revision of the 2023 U.S. 50-state National Seismic Hazard Model (V3 and V6)
Ned Field, USGS: Recent and future earthquake rupture forecast (ERF) developments
Morgan Moschetti, USGS: - Ground-motion characterization in 2023 NSHM and future updates
Peter Powers, USGS - The 2023 Alaska NSHM - Highlights and Hazard Changes

Part 2: Engineering Applications of the 2023 USGS 50-State National Seismic Hazard Model
May 7, 2025

Speakers:

Bob Pekelnicky, Degenkolb: Opening Remarks
Sanaz Rezaeian, USGS: Building Code Adoption of the 2023 NSHM
Nicolas Luco, USGS: Replacing Deterministic Capping on Design Ground Motions with Increased Target Risks of Collapse
Andrew Makdisi, USGS: Use of the 2023 NSHM in Advancing Geohazards Design Guidelines
Kishor Jaiswal, USGS: An update to annualized earthquake loss estimates based on the 2023 NSHM of the United States

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Spectra

Spectra Special Collection on 2023 National Seismic Hazard Model

This week (EERI) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched a Spectra special collection detailing the 2023 update of the United States National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM). The 2023 NSHM is a comprehensive assessment of seismic hazard for all 50 states—it refines the previous model for the continental U.S. published in 2018, while integrating the first updates for Alaska since 2007 and for Hawaii since 1998.

Read the full launch announcement on the EERI website here.

The Spectra special collection is fully open access and features thirteen articles published to date, with additional forthcoming papers to be added. The articles include an overview of the project, a description of key models and inputs, and a summary of the hazard results, as well as papers on specific model components and supporting studies. The papers represent the collective work of dozens of authors, as well as insights and input from hundreds of additional contributors and from experts who provided formal reviews of project components to participants in more than 25 related workshops and public meetings.

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Public Policy and Advocacy

EERI Community Impacts of Federal Funding Changes

We would like to better understand how EERI members have been impacted by federal funding uncertainty and recent executive orders. Your response will inform our plan to advocate for our professional community and the work we do.

Please fill out this short form to help illuminate how the situation is affecting you and your organization or community.

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Students

2025 SDC Shaking Day Observer Pass

Are you interested in attending the 2025 Seismic Design Competition Shaking Day? EERI and the SLC have just released a Shaking Day Observer Pass! For $75, you can attend Shaking day on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at the University of California, Berkeley, and cheer on the participating teams.

Shaking Day will run from 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Pacific Time in the Pauley Ballroom in the ASUC Student Union: Martin Luther King Jr. Building. Click here and log in to register. Be sure to select the “Shaking Day Observer” option. Registration will include breakfast, lunch, and coffee breaks.

We are excited to announce a record number of teams plan to participate in the competition this year!

EERI and the SLC are deeply grateful to our 2025 SDC sponsors! Thank you to our SDC Anchor Sponsor, Computer & Structures, Inc. This event is made possible by the generous commitment of CSI, and the support of the other SDC sponsors: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Degenkolb, Kinemetrics, California Earthquake Authority, GeoVera Nova, and the University of California at Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling.

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Announcements

Blume Center 50th Anniversary Celebration

2025 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Blume Earthquake Engineering Center at Stanford University! On Friday, May 9, 2025, the Blume Center will hold a day-long symposium at Stanford University to commemorate five decades of innovation, research, and impact in earthquake engineering. Friends and colleagues are welcome to join Stanford faculty, students, and alumni in celebrating this milestone to reflect on past achievements and the future of earthquake engineering.

Further information and registration details are available on the Blume Center website here. Please register by April 10, 2025.

Kinemetrics Webinar on March 26

Kinemetrics is hosting a free webinar on “From Trusted Solutions to Complete Platforms: How Past Innovation Drives Future Technology” on March 26, 2025 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time. The speakers are Dr. Mathias Franke, Dr. André Alegre, Marlon Agüero, and Dr. Khalid Saifullah.

The Kinemetrics Open System & Services Division is well known for delivering and operating world-class seismic, environmental monitoring, and structural health monitoring solutions. In this informative panel discussion and Q&A session, the OSS team leading development of solutions for dams, bridges, LNG facilities, and more will discuss the benchmark projects that led to key technical and operational breakthroughs that advanced Kinemetrics solutions to their current state. In addition, the panel will provide expert insight into how the lineup of Kinemetrics industry-specific platforms are changing the way leading organizations manage critical infrastructure today and what this means for the future.

Register here to attend the webinar.

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Opportunities

2025 Liu Huixian Earthquake Engineering Scholarships

The Huixian Earthquake Engineering Foundation (China) and the US-China Earthquake Engineering Foundation (USA) are pleased to announce that about ten (10) Liu Huixian Earthquake Engineering Scholarship Awards are available in 2025. Applicants must currently be enrolled as a full-time master’s degree or doctoral degree student in earthquake engineering or a closely related field. Applicants must be at a university or research institute in China, USA, Singapore, or a member center of the Asian-Pacific Network of Centers for Earthquake Engineering Research (ANCER).

View the post here for links to the award guidelines and to the application form. Application materials should be submitted electronically to the Secretariat of the Huixian Earthquake Engineering Foundation by June 30, 2025.

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Subscribing Member Spotlight

New: TIS (Teknolojik Izolator Sistermleri)

EERI is delighted to welcome a new bronze-tier subscribing member! TİS (Teknolojik İzolator Sistemleri) is a leading manufacturer of seismic isolators, headquartered in Turkey. Having supplied over 25,000 devices for nearly 150 projects across Europe, Asia, North America, and South America, TİS is a trusted company in earthquake isolation solutions worldwide.

Combining cutting-edge engineering with strong capital, TİS provides reliable solutions to protect critical infrastructure, including hospitals, data centers, historical buildings, industrial complexes, residential and educational structures, government buildings, and bridges. TİS is the only manufacturer whose friction pendulum isolators have been through high-intensity real earthquakes, confirming their reliability and effectiveness in real-world conditions. TİS manages the entire lifecycle of seismic isolators, from innovative design to installation and service, ensuring the highest standards of quality and performance. TİS ensures that critical infrastructure remains protected against seismic risks by delivering high-quality products, conducting continuous research, high-end experiments, and developing new and innovative products.

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News of the Profession

Links to Recent News and Views

• Naples struck by 4.4-magnitude quake causing minor damage and light injuries (Associated Press)
• Naples residents camp outdoors after overnight quake (BBC)
• 5 years after earthquake, Magna community still rebuilding (Fox13 Now Utah)
• Japan marks 14 years since 3/11 earthquake, with over 27,000 still displaced (The Japan Times)
• WA is seeing a string of earthquakes. Here’s how experts say you should stay prepared (Bellingham Herald)
• Long-awaited project to make Center Street Bridge earthquake-safe scheduled to start construction in 2026 (Salem Reporter)

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