News of the Institute
Saying Goodbye to EERI's Oakland Office
Thank you to everyone who stopped by for the open house networking reception with the EERI Board of Directors and Staff to bid farewell to our downtown Oakland Office on September 18th! Longtime members and new arrivals all turned out to enjoy the informal reception, share memories and make plans for the future, and take home copies of EERI publications and Chris Arnold’s watercolor prints from past LFE fundraising campaigns, as well as stickers and shirts and other memorabilia.
EERI will move fully out of the office by the close of this month, completing our transition to a fully remote staff team. After the move, the EERI website will be updated with our new mailing address and other contact information. Records and publications will be preserved in storage and EERI will continue working to digitize more of our archives to ensure that the institute’s history and resources are accessible to members through the Digital Library and the Learning From Earthquakes website.
Photo: EERI staff, board members, and attendees members at the publications table during the open house reception.
Application to be a Friedman Family Visiting Professional due October 4
EERI is still accepting applications from practicing professionals who wish to participate in the Friedman Family Visiting Professionals (FFVP) Program. This program, permanently endowed by the Friedman Family, focuses on fostering better understanding and communication between and among earthquake practitioners and academics. The application deadline is Friday, October 4, 2024 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time. Click here to apply.
The position of a Friedman Family Visiting Professional is a volunteer position. Applicants must be practicing professionals and EERI members in good standing. This program looks for ambassadors of EERI who are willing to travel to student chapters and share their experiences in their field and how EERI has impacted their careers by giving a lecture and participating in additional informal activities. Participating professionals must be available to communicate regularly with EERI staff, travel to universities (mainly the US and Canada with a few other international locations), and engage actively with undergraduate and graduate students to plan and execute their visit. EERI provides travel stipends to cover travel and lodging for your visits. Some visits may also be held virtually due to funding or other circumstances. Click here for more details about the program, position, and application process.
Cast Your Vote: 2025 EERI Board of Directors Election
EERI is pleased to announce the candidates for Director for the 2025 Board of Directors Election. You can view the candidate bios and vision statements here.
We sent an email to eligible voters today with a link to access your secure ballot and cast your vote. The election will close on Friday, November 1, 2024 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time.
Director A:
Craig Davis (M. EERI, 1995)
Manager, C A Davis Engineering
Santa Clarita, California
Shahram Pezeshk (M. EERI, 1989)
Chair and Professor of Civil Engineering, The University of Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Director B:
Ezra Jampole (M. EERI, 2012)
Principal, Exponent
New York, New York
Lindsey Maclise (M. EERI, 2011)
Principal, Forell | Elsesser Engineers
San Francisco, California
EERI thanks the 2024 Nominating Committee for their work this year: Erica Fischer (Chair), Nick Gregor, Laurie Johnson, John Hooper, Sarah Wichman, Janiele Maffei (ex-officio), and Heidi Tremayne (ex-officio).
New Member Portal Coming Soon
EERI’s new member database will launch this month! We are excited for you to experience our new member portal, which will include improved account and directory options, as well as new features to be introduced later this fall. You will need to update your password to log in, which will allow you to review your member profile and contact information, ensure continued access to Spectra and other EERI resources, and renew your membership for 2025. Keep an eye out for an email with detailed instructions on next steps—or check the EERI website for the announcement.
For more information about our ongoing efforts to enhance EERI infrastructure and operations, view the recent leadership communique from EERI Executive Director Heidi Tremayne. Until the new system launches, the account page on the website will remain read-only except for the option to reset your password. If you experience any issues in the meantime, please contact us at eeri@eeri.org.
Back to top >Public Policy and Advocacy
EERI Supports California Proposition 2
EERI recommends a Yes vote on California Proposition 2, a $10 billion school facilities bond to support new construction and renovation, including seismic upgrades, of K-12 public school and community college facilities. Prop. 2 will provide an opportunity to implement much-needed repairs and health and safety upgrades, including seismic retrofits for existing buildings, and to invest in new facilities for school districts across the state. In accordance with EERI’s established commitment to advocate for policies to promote school seismic safety, EERI members based in California are encouraged to vote “Yes” on the November 2024 ballot for California Proposition 2. If the proposition passes, members are also encouraged to coordinate with the EERI California Legislative Subcommittee and Regional Chapters to advocate in their local communities for the allocation of the resulting funds to prioritize seismic retrofit and safety needs for K-12 schools. For more information, view the news post on the EERI website here.
Back to top >In Memoriam
Nabih Youssef (1944-2024)
Contributed by Marshall Lew (M.EERI 1978)
Nabih Youssef (M.EERI 1987) passed away on July 12, 2024. Nabih was born on May 29, 1944, in Cairo, Egypt, and decided to become an engineer at age 16. After completing a bachelor's degree in structural engineering at Cairo University in 1967 and immigrating to the United States in 1969, he joined the architectural firm Welton Becket. During his time there, Nabih worked on the Hyatt Regency and Theme Tower in Dallas, Texas, the Moscow World Trade Center, the Washington D.C. Convention Center, and the 1975 re-design of the Olive View Hospital, whose partial collapse during the 1971 San Fernando earthquake cemented his focus on earthquake engineering.
Nabih received a master's degree in structural engineering from California State University at Los Angeles in 1971, and then a postgraduate diploma in earthquake engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1974. In 1982, Nabih joined A.C. Martin Partners in Los Angeles to lead its engineering division, and his signature projects there included the Manu-Life Tower, Beverly Hills Civic Center, Downtown Los Angeles YMCA, and the Home Savings Tower.
In 1989, Nabih founded Nabih Youssef & Associates, a current EERI Subscribing Member, and grew it to become an internationally recognized firm. Nabih and NYA worked on projects including the J. Paul Getty Villa, the Cleveland Museum of Art Expansion, the Skirball Cultural Center, Dodger Stadium, the Broad Museum, Stanford Hospital, and many other important structures. Nabih was early proponent of performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) analysis and design, and was involved with SEAOC Vision 2000, the Tall Buildings Initiative, and the Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council.
Nabih’s signature accomplishments include some pioneering structural designs that advanced earthquake engineering. A short list of the most innovative and significant projects includes the seismic rehabilitation of the Los Angeles City Hall after the Northridge earthquake by using base isolation and viscous dampers, the rehabilitation of the heavily damaged Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and later the new pressbox and grandstands at the Coliseum for USC, the design of the base-isolated Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles, and the seismic retrofit of the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Hospital with base isolation. Nabih was involved with many professional organizations including EERI, ASCE, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, and the Structural Engineers Association of California. Nabih was a strong supporter of the EERI Student Chapter at his alma mater, Cal State LA. Nabih was a leader and innovator, but most importantly, he was more than a colleague—he was everyone's friend.
Back to top >Regional Chapters
EERI New England Webinar: A Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Model for Mainland China
EERI’s New England chapter is hosting a free webinar on “A Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Model for Mainland China” on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, from 4:00-5:00 PM Eastern Time (1:00-2:00 PM Pacific). Yufang Rong, Staff Vice President and Principal Research Scientist, Factory Mutual Insurance Company Research Division, will present on the following topic:
We construct a probabilistic seismic hazard model for mainland China by integrating historical earthquakes, active faults, and geodetic strain rates. We delineate large seismic source zones based on geologic and seismotectonic characteristics. For each source zone, a tapered Gutenberg-Richter (TGR) distribution is used to model the total seismic activity rates. We construct a linked-fault model and use GPS velocities to invert for fault slip rates. The TGR a- and b-values are calculated using a new earthquake catalog, while corner magnitudes are constrained using the seismic moment rate inferred from a geodetic strain rate model. For hazard calculations, the total TGR distribution is split into two parts, with smaller (Mw < 6.5) earthquakes being distributed within the zone using a smoothed seismicity method, and larger earthquakes put both onto active faults, based on fault slip rates and dimensions, and into the zone as background seismicity. We select ground motion models by performing residual analysis using ground motion recordings. Site amplifications are considered based on a site condition map developed using geology as a proxy. The resulting seismic hazard is consistent with the fifth-generation national seismic hazard model for most major cities.
Register here to attend the webinar.
Back to top >Webinars
EERI Oral History Webinar: Izzat (Ed) Idriss Interviewed By Ross Boulanger
Friday, October 18, 2024
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
REGISTER HERE
Join us for a free webinar highlighting the most recent publication from EERI's Connections Oral History series! The webinar will feature Dr. Izzat (Ed) Idriss, a pioneer in the field of geotechnical earthquake engineering. He will share recollections from his long career as an academic and engineering practitioner, which included major contributions to understanding soil sites and structures behavior and participation in in post-earthquake reconnaissance and investigation of several major earthquakes over the last 50 years. Dr. Idriss will be joined by Dr. Ross W. Boulanger, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis, and a longtime colleague and friend, who conducted the interviews for the oral history.
Back to top >Spectra
Call for Submissions: Spectra Special Collection on Systemic Earthquake Risk Modeling
EERI’s peer-reviewed journal Earthquake Spectra is seeking papers for a special collection on “Forward-Looking, Equitable, and Systemic Earthquake Risk Modeling.” The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2024.
Urban populations continue to grow in many regions, new structures are being built on previously undeveloped land, the density of urban settlements is amplifying, and multiple infrastructure systems are being expanded or further interconnected to meet ever-increasing demands. Against this backdrop, climate change is exacerbating the occurrence of certain hazards, increasing the likelihood of destructive earthquakes coinciding with or triggering other types of catastrophes, resulting in compounding and cascading impacts. These changes fundamentally alter the exposure and vulnerability of people, their built environment, and the risks that their livelihoods could be impacted by earthquakes. Meanwhile, marginalized socioeconomic and demographic groups continue to suffer the most during disasters, even though economic loss estimates might suggest otherwise. While these problems are understood qualitatively, their consideration in earthquake risk modeling remains a rarity.
These challenges point to an urgent need for a paradigm shift in how we approach earthquake risk modeling, which this special collection will address. The range of topics to be covered includes methods for time-dependent earthquake risk assessment, network-level earthquake risk modeling, multi-hazard (or cumulative) risk analysis, and the development of equitable risk metrics.
For more information on the special collection editors, author guidelines, and instructions on how to submit, view the news post on the EERI website here.
Back to top >Students
2025 SDC Interest Survey
The 2025 Student Design Competition (SDC) season is fast approaching! While the rules and regulations are still being finalized by the SDC chairs of the Student Leadership Council (SLC), we’d like to gauge how many undergraduate teams are interested in competing.
Please fill out the interest survey to let us know if your school is interested. Only one representative per university should complete the survey. As a reminder, your school must be an EERI Student Chapter to be eligible to participate. Information about how to start a student chapter and the requirements can be found on EERI’s website here.
Also, you can catch up on the news of the recent SLC retreat and see the results of the officer elections in the recent Pulse article here.
Back to top >Announcements
NHERI SimCenter Webinar: Liquefaction-Induced Hazards Effects on Buried Utilities
Join the NHERI SimCenter’s Working Group on Regional Simulations for Lifelines and Transportation on October 9, 2024 from 10:00-11:30 AM Pacific Time for a webinar on advances in understanding the seismic performance of buried natural gas pipelines affected by liquefaction. The seismic performance of our buried infrastructure is critical to achieving a resilient nation. Liquefaction-induced ground deformation can damage buried utilities, such as natural gas pipelines and water distribution pipes. Recent advances in developing seismic risk methodologies and open-source software that provide quantitative estimates of seismic risk including the uncertainty range in the risk will be presented. These methodologies and software are required to support risk-informed decision-making by utility companies, their consultants, and regulators.
The webinar will be hosted by Jon Bray and feature speakers Tom O'Rourke, Domniki Asimaki, Katerina Ziotopoulou, Barry Zheng, and Jinyan Zhao. A roundtable discussion will follow the presentations. Register here to attend.
FRK Distinguished Lecture Series: Allen C. Estes on Architectural Engineering
The 2024 Fazlur Rahman Khan Distinguished Lecture series will present “Architectural Engineering: Does it Have an Identity Crisis?” by Allen C. Estes, Professor and Head of the Department of Architectural Engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, on Friday, October 11 at 4:30 PM Eastern (1:30 PM Pacific). The lecture will be live-streamed via Zoom webinar.
There are currently 26 ABET accredited Architectural Engineering (AE) programs in the United States (along with 7 additional international programs) and their curricular emphases are all very different. Since 2008, the number of accredited AE programs has risen from 18 programs to 26 programs – an increase of 44%, an indicator that universities see the value of these programs. Nevertheless, the American public and many in the industry do not understand what architectural engineers do and how they are distinguished from civil engineers and architects. At the same time, there are 271 accredited civil engineering (CE) programs in the U.S. outnumbering the AE programs about 10 to 1 and they don’t seem to have an identity problem, despite many similarities. The CE and AE disciplines overlap considerably in the subdisciplines of structures and construction. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is the lead society for both programs and the ASCE Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) oversees the discipline. This lecture will examine the history of AE in the U.S. and curricular content of the various U.S. programs. It will contrast the CE and AE disciplines and provide evidence and rationale for the AE identity challenge. Finally, recommendations will be provided that could improve the situation.
Register here to attend.
SMIP24 Seminar on Utilization of Strong Motion Data
The California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (CSMIP) of the California Geological Survey will hold its annual seminar virtually on Thursday, October 17, 2024 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Pacific Time. The annual seminar's purpose is to provide information that will be useful in seismic design practice, post-earthquake response, and the improvement of seismic design codes and practices. The SMIP24 Seminar will include various presentations on the analysis and utilization of strong motion data.
The seminar will be held virtually via Zoom webinar. The full seminar program and a link to register are available at the SMIP24 Seminar website here. Registration fees are waived for this year’s seminar.
Online Workshop on Fault Displacement Hazard
The University of California and its partners are holding an online workshop series to present new Fault Displacement Models developed through the Fault Displacement Hazard Initiative (FDHI) Project. The workshops will be held on December 2, 4, and 6 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (PDT). Separate topics will be discussed each day. Please register (free of charge) by November 29, 2024 at the website here. If you have any questions, please contact UCLA at: sarmiento.alexandrac+wkshp@gmail.com
Back to top >Opportunities
UNR Hiring Tenured Professor of Structural Engineering for Extreme Events
The Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Nevada, Reno is seeking candidates for a full-time, tenured position in the structural engineering program. The appointment may be at either Associate or Full Professor level, with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2025. Duties include undergraduate and graduate teaching, supervision of graduate students, development and execution of significant externally funded research programs, and university service. The successful candidate may be considered to serve as Director of the Center for Civil Engineering Earthquake Research. The Director is expected to offer visionary leadership, build upon existing research capacity and infrastructure, create new research initiatives, and pursue long-term external and strategic funding for laboratory operations.
View the full description of the position, qualifications, and instructions on how to apply at the job posting here. Review of applications will begin on November 15, 2024, and the search will close without notice when a sufficient number of applications are received or a hiring decision has been made.
Back to top >Subscribing Member Spotlight
Simpson Strong-Tie
Simpson Strong-Tie is one of the world's largest suppliers of structural building products. The company is recognized as the genuine connector brand in the residential construction industry and for its offering of shearwalls, moment frames, and fasteners. The company also offers products in infrastructure, commercial and industrial construction, including mechanical anchors and adhesives that repair, protect and strengthen concrete and masonry.
California Earthquake Authority
California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is a longtime EERI Platinum-Level Subscribing Member. CEA is a not-for-profit, privately funded, publicly managed organization that provides residential earthquake insurance to more than 1 million households in California. Since 1996, CEA has been making earthquake insurance as affordable as possible for all California residents, while helping reduce their risk of earthquake loss wherever they live.
News of the Profession
Links to Recent News and Views
- Can this landmark L.A. skyscraper survive a major quake? County officials want to find out (Los Angeles Times, quoting EERI member David Cocke)
- Angelenos Shrug at Recent Quakes, Decades After the Last ‘Big One.’ (New York Times, quoting EERI member Lucy Jones)
- How worried should Tacoma be about the ‘Big One,’ the looming M-9.0 Cascadia earthquake? (Tacoma News-Tribune)
- Brick by brick, Morocco rebuilds 12th-century mosque destroyed by 2023 earthquake (Associated Press)
- Complaint against Christchurch CTV building engineer upheld (Radio New Zealand)