News of the Institute
Lizzie Blaisdell Collins to Receive 2016 EERI Shah Family Innovation Prize
Thanks to a generous gift from the Shah family, EERI annually awards the Shah Prize to young professionals and academics for creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit in the field of earthquake risk mitigation and management.
Lizzie Blaisdell Collins (M.EERI, 2013) has been awarded the 2016 EERI Shah Family Innovation Prize. Lizzie is the Director of Engineering for Build Change, a non-profit social enterprise that works with people in emerging nations to build houses and schools that are resistant to earthquakes and hurricanes. Since 2013 she has worked in-country with Build Change's engineering teams, technical consultants, volunteers and local engineering partners providing technical assistance to communities rebuilding after disasters, such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2013 earthquake in Aceh, Indonesia, 2013 Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, and most recently Hurricane Matthew in Haiti. Lizzie also leads Build Change's technical development for supporting cities in implementing disaster mitigation programs, including cities in Colombia, Guatemala and the Philippines, through the application of simplified seismic evaluation and retrofit methodologies for vulnerable, informal housing.
Lizzie is a registered structural engineer in the State of California, where she worked previously for 8 years with Degenkolb Engineers in San Francisco after receiving her Masters in Science from the Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials program at U.C. Berkeley and her Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Princeton University.
The 2016 Shah Family Innovation Prize will be presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. To learn more about the Shah Family Innovation Prize, please visit the EERI website.
11NCEE Call for Papers
Eleventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering
Integrating Science, Engineering, and Policy
June 25-29, 2018
Los Angeles, California
Purpose: The Eleventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering (11NCEE), on the 70th Anniversary of the forming of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), will provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to share the latest knowledge and techniques to better understand and mitigate the damaging effects of earthquakes and tsunamis. With the theme “Integrating Science, Engineering, and Policy,” the conference will bring together professionals from the full spectrum of the earthquake community to discuss and debate a multitude of issues related to seismic hazard, risk, mitigation and public policy. EERI is organizing this conference in collaboration with the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC).
Paper Formats: The 11NCEE is accepting two paper types for the proceedings. The full paper option has a limit of ten pages, and the extended abstract paper option has a limit of four pages with a maximum title length of 80 characters and maximum text length of 400 words. Paper body text will be Times Roman 12-point and single spaced.
Call for Papers: The deadline for submission of abstracts is May 31, 2017. The abstract collection system is open. Authors must submit abstracts and papers online.Authors will receive notification of provisional acceptance of their abstracts by August 15, 2017. Final papers, both full and extended abstracts, must be received by October 31, 2017. Additional detailed instructions are available on the conference website.
Special Sessions: The conference will include a small number of special sessions. Attractive special session proposals cross disciplinary and general topic boundaries, and raise challenging issues. The program committee is particularly interested in special session proposals that relate to the conference theme of integrating earthquake science, engineering, and policy, and those that address the hazards, risks and policies related to Southern California, the setting for the conference. Special sessions can be mini-workshops,panels, debates or other unique and engaging formats. Those interested in proposing a special session can find directions on the conference website. The deadline for submitting special session requests is March 31, 2017. Special session proposers will be notified of acceptance by April 30, 2017.
Housner Fellows Profile - Hassan Steven Mdala
Hassan Steven Mdala (M.EERI, 2012) is an alumnus of the EERI Housner Fellows Class of 2012. Hassan's participation in the program was supported by the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). As a Housner Fellow, he feels proud to contribute to the effect of seismic risk reduction both in his country and abroad. He is a contributor to to the Housner Fellows Class of 2012 report: "Improving the Earthquake Safety of Ghana’s Schools."
Hassan is geologist with almost eight years of experience. He graduated from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College in 2008 with a BSc in Earth Sciences - Geology. In 2015 he completed his MSc in Geo-Information Science & Earth Observation from ITC-University of Twente - The Netherlands.
In February 2009, Hassan joined the Geological Survey Department of Malawi in the Seismology Section as a Geologist and still works with the same department. Hassan has co-authored three research papers on topics related to seismicity within the Malawi Rift - western branch of the East African Rift System. He is a member of the Malawi Disaster Risk Management Stakeholders (MDRMS).
For more information about the Housner Fellows program, or to submit an application for the Housner Fellows Class of 2017, please visit the website.
EERI's 69th Annual Meeting is just a few weeks away!
Please join us on March 7-10 in Portland, Oregon for the 2017 Annual Meeting "The Really Big One: Road to Resilience."
On March 7, 2017, EERI's 69th Annual Meeting kicks off at the Portland Downtown Waterfront Marriott Hotel! Co-chairs, Carmen Merlo (M. EERI, 2013),Portland Bureau of Emergency Management, and Jeff Rubin,Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue are leading an energized local organizing committee that has put together a dynamic program addressing the theme, "The Really Big One: Road to Resilience."
Local officials, policy makers, and agency representatives from the Pacific Northwest join with internationally recognized practitioners and researchers to focus attention on the risks posed by the Pacific Northwest's Cascadia Subduction Zone. More than 60 posters on new research and case studies will be presented and 33 teams will compete in the annual Seismic Design Competition. The week concludes on Friday afternoon with a tour of the Infrastructure Seismic Testing and Applied Research (iSTAR) Laboratory at Portland State University, followed by beer, wine and conversation with the hosts. View the full program for more details.
Don't miss out! There is still time to register.
Applications for the 2017 Housner Fellows Program Now Being Accepted
What makes you a leader?
The Housner Fellows Program is seeking six exemplary young professionals from among our members who are dedicated public policy advocates committed to earthquake risk mitigation. Fellows will participate in a Leadership Institute and develop a group project that makes a real impact in the field. Members from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. As of February 1st, EERI is accepting applications for the 2017 Housner Fellows class. Apply Online.
News of the Profession
Links to Recent News and Views
Ten recent stories, reports, or opinions from around the web
Recovery Postponed: The long-term plight of people displaced by the 2011 East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear radiation disaster (ReliefWeb) 2016 marked the halfway point in the ten-year timeframe for reconstruction set by the Japanese government following the devastating “Great East Japan Earthquake” disaster. Download the full report. Read more
Santa Monica Seeks to Pass the Nation's Most Extensive Earthquake Retrofit Plan (Los Angeles Times) Santa Monica, California is poised to require safety improvements to as many as 2,000 earthquake-vulnerable buildings in what would be the nation’s most extensive seismic retrofitting effort. Read more
Six Killed, More Than 120 Injured as Earthquake Shakes Southern Philippines (The Star) The magnitude 6.7 quake struck late Friday, forcing hundreds to flee their homes and spend the night in evacuation centres. Read more
Recovery Postponed: The long-term plight of people displaced by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear radiation disaster. (Reliefweb) 2016 marked the halfway point in the ten-year timeframe for reconstruction set by the Japanese government following the devastating “Great East Japan Earthquake” disaster. A Report from Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre has just been released. Read more
After Napa Earthquake, Home Retrofitting Knowledge Still Lags (Napa Valley Register) Many homeowners in Napa sincerely want to armor their houses against the next earthquake to strike wine country, but few know exactly how. Read more
A Trojan Horse? Seismic Swarm in Turkey Gently Stresses Large Fault Zone (Temblor) In just a few days, 800 earthquakes varying size were felt, including three damaging magnitude 5+ earthquakes. Read more
Five Arrested for Sharing Fake Quake Photo (Focus Taiwan) Police arrested 5 people on charges of "terrorizing the public" after they shared a fake photo with the caption,"a building has collapsed on Jinhua Road," following a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in southern Taiwan early Saturday. Read more
Earthquake Experts Wonder Whether Southern California is Next (Washington Post) In many ways Brawley, California is a typical farming community, but there is one distinction that makes it unique: It is the unofficial earthquake capital of California, maybe the nation. Read more
ASU Professor Aids Effort to Fortify Defenses Against an Earth-Shaking Problem (ASU Now) Liquefaction and its destructive potential is a fairly widespread threat. “There is literally trillions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure around the world on ground that is at risk of liquefaction,” said Edward Kavazanjian (M. EERI, 1989). Read more
Kaikoura Earthquake: Council Update on Wellington Buildings (New Zealand Herald) Today marks three months since the November 14 quake in Kaikoura and Wellington building owners had until last Friday to complete more invasive checks ordered by the council. Read more
Learning from Earthquakes
New Cushing Oklahoma EERI Reconnaissance Team Report Available
A special report on the M5.0 earthquake in Cushing, Oklahoma, on November 7, 2016, is now available for download.
The EERI Earthquake Reconnaissance Team's 21-page report describes the findings of a ten-member reconnaissance team sent by EERI’s Learning from Earthquakes program November 14-16, 2016, to investigate building damage, impacts on businesses, school performance, as well as other issues related to induced seismicity in the region.
The EERI Earthquake Reconnaissance Team Report: M5.0 Cushing, Oklahoma, USA Earthquake on November 7, 2016 is now available for download at the Oklahoma Earthquake virtual clearinghouse website.
EERI reconnaissance team members who contributed to the report include: Jim Taylor (M. EERI, 2009), EERI Team Leader, and Technical Manager for ABS Consulting; Mehmet Çelebi (M. EERI, 1980), Sr. Research Civil Engineer, USGS; Alex Greer (M. EERI, 2016), Assistant Professor of Political Science, Oklahoma State University; Ezra Jampole (M. EERI, 2012), Associate, Exponent; Armin Masroor, Senior Analyst, Arup; Steven Melton, Graduate Research Assistant, Oklahoma State University; Derek Norton, Graduate Research Assistant, Oklahoma State University; Nicole Paul (M. EERI, 2016), Structural Analyst/Risk Consultant, Arup; Evan Wilson, Engineer II, ABS Consulting; Yu Xiao (M. EERI, 2011), Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning, Texas A&M University.
The virtual clearinghouse website for this event also includes a photo gallery and data map that contains more than 1,600 geolocated photo observations with captions from both the M5.0 earthquake on November 7, 2016, and the M5.8 earthquake near Pawnee, Oklahoma, on September 3, 2016.
New Report on Fukushima Japan Tsunami Damage and Response
The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) has issued a new 16 page report: EERI Preliminary Notes on Tsunami Damage and Response: Tsunami Generated by Mjma7.4 (Mw6.9) Fukushima, Japan, Earthquake on November 22, 2016. Please visit the EERI LFE event page for more information, or download the pdf.
This report is a product of EERI’s Learning From Earthquakes (LFE) program, prepared by Rick Wilson (M. EERI, 2010), Senior Engineering Geologist with the California Geological Survey; Shunichi Koshimura, Professor of Civil Engineering at the International Research Institute of Disaster Science at Tohoku University; Haruo Hayashi (M. EERI, 1997), President of the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience in Japan; Lori Dengler, Professor Emeritus of Geology at Humboldt State University; and James Goltz (M. EERI, 1994), Retired Branch Chief with the Earthquake, Tsunami, and Volcanic Program at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
The report summarizes the damage and response outcomes of the tsunami which was generated by the Mjma 7.4 (Mw6.9) Fukushima, Japan earthquake on November 22, 2016 at 05:59 local time. It highlights lessons learned about tsunami notification, evacuation and response activities. Although an LFE field team was not deployed to investigate tsunami impacts, the report relies on the professional experience of the authors, and provides information compiled from numerous references, input from colleagues, and primary data collected during and after the event.
Publications
Earthquake Spectra: Preprint Manuscripts
Seven preprint manuscripts have been posted to the Earthquake Spectra website prior to formal publication. The papers to be published are:
- Dynamic Response of Underground Structures in Sand: Experimental Data by Anne Lemnitzer (M. EERI, 2006), Lohrasb Keykhosropour (M. EERI, 2016), Yohsuke Kawamata and Ikuo Towhata
- Experimental Analysis of a Shake Table Test of a Timber-Framed Structures with Stone and Earth Infill by F. Vieux-Champagne (M. EERI, 2016), Y. Sieffert , S. Grange , C. Belinga Nko’o, E. Bertrand, J.C. Duccini, C. Faye, L. Daudeville
- Earthquake Demand Energy Attenuation Model for Liquefaction Potential Assessment by Mohammad H. Baziar and Hamid Rostami
- A Detailed Inventory of Non-Ductile Concrete Shear Wall Buildings by Jeff Yathon (M. EERI, 2008), Perry Adebar (M. EERI, 1999), and Kenneth J. Elwood (M. EERI, 1994)
- Dynamic Response Evaluation of Damped- Outrigger Systems with Various Heights by Bin Huang and Toru Takeuchi
- Cumulative Absolute Velocity as a Local Damage Indicator of Instrumented Structures by Sifat Muin (M. EERI, 2014) and Khalid M. Mosalam (M. EERI, 2013)
- Development of a Fragility Model for the Residential Building Stock in South America by Mabé Villar-Vega (M. EERI, 2017), Vitor Silva (M. EERI, 2014), Helen Crowley (M. EERI, 2008), Catalina Yepes (M. EERI, 2016), Nicola Tarque, Ana Beatriz Acevedo, Matías A. Hube (M. EERI, 2005), Gustavo Coronel, Hernán Santa María
To read all current preprint manuscripts posted, visit Earthquake Spectra preprints.
If you have questions about Spectra, contact Managing Editor Liz Stalnaker at liz@eeri.org
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