News of the Institute

Robert W. Graves Selected as 2019 Joyner Lecturer

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and the Seismological Society of America (SSA) are pleased to announce that U.S. Geological Survey research geophysicist Robert W. Graves (M.EERI,2000) is the 2019 recipient of the William B. Joyner Lecture Award.

Graves will deliver the Joyner Lecture at the EERI 2019 Annual Meeting to be held 5-8 March 2019 in Vancouver, Canada, and the 2019 SSA Annual Meeting to be held 23-26 April 2019.

The lectureship is jointly awarded by EERI and SSA to those who have provided outstanding earth science contributions to the theory and practice of earthquake engineering or outstanding earthquake engineering contributions to the direction and focus of earth science research—together with demonstrated skills of communication at the interface of earthquake science and earthquake engineering.

The lecture honors the distinguished career of William B. Joyner at the U.S. Geological Survey and his abiding commitment to continuing communication and education at the interface between research findings of earthquake science and the practical realities of earthquake engineering.

At the USGS Pasadena office, Graves’ main area of study is the analysis and characterization of strong ground shaking due to earthquakes. Graves’ research considers the processes of how earthquake ruptures start and propagate across the fault, how the resulting seismic waves propagate through the Earth’s crust, and how strong the ground shaking will be at a particular location. This work relies heavily on analysis and interpretation of ground motion recordings from past earthquakes, as well as high-performance computer simulation and modeling.

In his nomination for the award, Graves was commended for his work in significantly advancing ground motion simulations toward practical applications, and in working across the seismology-engineering interface to solicit feedback and to continually refine his simulation methods. Graves has become one of the key leaders in the field of 3D ground motion simulations, his colleagues noted, citing in particular his accomplishments in developing efficient modeling algorithms that allow for large-scale 3D simulations to be computed on desktop platforms.

Graves has participated in numerous Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) and USGS sponsored projects, including the 3D waveform modeling program and the refinement of the SCEC Community Velocity Model. Work on these projects involves the oversight and coordination of large scale simulations of earthquake ruptures as well as the computation of seismic hazard using physics-based models in the CyberShake project. Graves is one of the founding architects of the SCEC Broadband Simulation Platform, and continues to update and maintain numerous simulation codes on the Platform.

As a consulting seismologist for nearly 20 years before joining the USGS, Graves generated near-fault ground motions for various engineering projects, including the FEMA/SAC Steel Project, Caltrans bridges in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, and bridges in Japan, as well as providing ground motions for use in the Next Generation of Ground-Motion Attenuation Models (NGA)-West and NGA-East projects.

Graves is a member of the American Geophysical Union, EERI and SSA, where he served on the Board of Directors from 2009 to 2012.

For more information about the Joyner Lecture Award, please visit the dedicated pages on the EERI website or the SSA website.

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EERI 2019AM: Register by Dec. 31 & Take Advantage of Early Bird Rates

Registration is now open for EERI's 71st Annual Meeting, to be held
March 5-8, 2019, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Early Bird Rates are in effect through December 31, 2018. 

 

Come to beautiful downtown Vancouver to learn, connect, and network with other earthquake professionals, while enjoying the spectacular new JW Marriott Parq Vancouver luxury hotel, spa and casino. To reserve your room today at the EERI discount rate, please click here.

Under the theme of "Reaching Resilience Faster by Working Together," the local organizing committee, co-chaired by Kate Thibert (M.EERI,2005) and John Sherstobitoff (M.EERI,1991), with support from the EERI British Columbia Regional Chapter, have created a program with a terrific schedule of sessions ranging from the very specific and technical to broader themes of how communities can work cooperatively towards resilience.  The 2019 Annual Meeting will feature new facilitated interactive workshop sessions, alongside traditional technical sessions as well as sessions highlighting EERI programs. This exciting new program format will appeal to a multi-disciplinary audience, including engineers, scientists, planners, policy makers, social scientists, and many more! 

Session topics will include:

• Public Education, Emergency Preparedness and Understanding Risk
• Improving New and Existing Building Performance
• Post-Earthquake Response and Recovery
• Utilities and Infrastructure; including Geotechnical
• Policy, Insurance and Funding Incentives
• New Technologies and Instrumentation

Tours and workshops will include:

• University of British Columbia shake lab tour
• Tour of retrofitted schools in Vancouver and the lower mainland
• St. George's School structural retrofit tour
• LFE Earthquake Reconnaissance Training workshop
• FEMA P-58, New Tools and Guidance for Performance-Based Seismic Design workshop

For more details about the meeting, please visit the 2019 Annual Meeting website.
To register for the meeting, click here.
Questions? Email annualmeeting@eeri.org

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Renew Your EERI Membership Today

The holiday season is upon us, and we understand how busy you are. But if you haven't yet, please take a moment to renew your EERI membership now. It's simple, you can renew by email, mail, or phone. EERI members who had not yet renewed were mailed a letter dated Nov. 1, 2018, and an email on November 13, 2018. The letter provides a form and instructions to renew by mail, and the email provides a direct link to your personal renewal page, simplifying the process.  If you cannot find the email, just login to EERI Member Resources using your email address as your user name, EERI ID as your password, and follow the prompts. If you have questions, please e-mail eeri@eeri.org.

We hope you will continue your support of EERI and our mission in 2019! 
Together, we can reduce earthquake risk for our communities.

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In Memoriam - Anestis Veletsos

Remembering Anestis “Andy” Veletsos (1927-2018)

The Board of Directors and staff of EERI extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, and students of Anestis “Andy” Veletsos (M.EERI,1962), who passed away in Houston, Texas on October 25 at age 91. He is survived by his wife, Katherine; daughters Ann Marie and Melinda (Vieser); his son-in-law, Jaime Vieser; four grandchildren, Katherine, Alexandra, Bella and Will; and his sister-in-law, Rula Zografos.  

Andy Velestos was a member of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute for 56 years. In 1974, he served on the Board of Directors as vice president, and in 1997 received the George W. Housner Medal. Dr. Veletsos was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1979 for his “contributions to advancement in structural dynamics and earthquake engineering, especially in inelastic behavior and soil-structure interaction.” He was a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and recipient of its most coveted awards: the Norman Medal (twice) and the Ernest E. Howard Award. He received numerous awards throughout his career including the Reese Research Prize, Theodore von Karman Medal, and Newmark Medal. 

“A handful of people have transformed the field of earthquake engineering over the past century. Andy was certainly one of them. A true giant in the field,” said EERI Reginald DesRoches (M.EERI,1995), the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University.¹  Professor Veletsos was a faculty member at Rice University for 45 years (1964 to 2009), served as department chair from 1964 to 1972, and at the time of his death was the Brown and Root Professor Emeritus of CEE at Rice. His influential research contributions spanned structural dynamics and methods of dynamic analysis, earthquake engineering (elastic and inelastic response spectra), dynamic stiffness of foundations, and seismic soil structure interaction. He authored 140 publications, focusing almost exclusively on structural dynamics and earthquake engineering.

Anil K. Chopra (M.EERI,1973) ,Professor Emeritus, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, said in remarks he prepared for Andy's memorial service in Houston on November 1: "For those of you who do not know Andy’s professional work, let me say a few words. Andy’s research had a profound influence on the development of structural dynamics and earthquake engineering. His work formed the foundation of this subject. It is now a part of building codes; engineers use it every day without knowing its origins. It is taught in graduate courses all over the world. New researchers start by reading his papers to embark on their careers." ²

Colleagues Christos Giarlelis, Civil Engineering Consultant, Athens, Greece; George E. Mylonakis, Chair in Geotechnics and Soil-Structure Interaction, University of Bristol, U.K., University of Patras, Greece, and UCLA; and Panos Dakoulas, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Thessaly, Greece, have composed a heartfelt remembrance of Andy's exceptional life, which you can read in its entirety or download by clicking here. This is a brief excerpt:

"For the people who worked with him, Andy combined intelligence with kindness, humility and integrity. He was always calm, speaking slowly with well chosen words that were conveying his thoughts maintaining the same level of clarity in his verbal communication as he had in his writings. To his students and colleagues, he has been always a very warm and cordial host. He was highly respected and very popular among his colleagues and helped many young scientists, including the signatories, to advance their careers.

A good equilibrium between personal and professional life is the secret of a longlasting, successful career,”  he always said.³ 

Andy will be greatly missed.

Please click on the links below to read the full documents referenced above:
¹Anestis Veletsos: 'A true giant in the field' (Rice University) 
²Andy Veletsos Memorial Remarks by Anil Chopra, November 1, 2018
³Anestis S. Veletsos, 1927-2018 (submitted to EERI by Christos Giarlelis, George E. Mylonakis, and Panos Dakoulas) 

 

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Learning from Earthquakes

Don't Miss Your Chance! LFE 2019 Travel Study Program Deadline Nov 19th

Applications are still open for EERI's Learning From Earthquakes 2019 Travel Study Program to be held in New Zealand from May 5-12, 2019 (NZ time). They won't be for long though, the deadline to submit your application is November 19, 2018!

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

EERI is teaming up with QuakeCoRE, the New Zealand Centre for Earthquake Resilience, to offer an opportunity to be part of the upcoming Learning from Earthquakes Travel Study Program in New Zealand. This program offers a unique opportunity to learn directly from local experts in the field and contribute to knowledge of recovery from recent earthquakes in New Zealand.

The program is targeted at postgraduate students and young professionals; both early career researchers and early career practitioners. The organizers are seeking applications from participants across a diverse spectrum including social sciences, earth sciences, and engineering. Preference will be given to EERI members and QuakeCoRE affiliates.

Cost
Program participants are responsible for all travel expenses to and from New Zealand, and the following:

Registration Fee: Students	$500 (USD)
Registration Fee: Young Professionals	$1,750 (USD)

Applications are due November 19, 2018!

Information about the program goals and the outcomes of the 2017 LFE Travel Study Program in Chile can be found by clicking here.
Questions about the program and application process may be directed to Zoe Yin at zoe@eeri.org

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Announcements

Introduction to Numerical Modeling in Geotechnical Engineering with Emphasis on FLAC Modeling

“Introduction to Numerical Modeling in Geotechnical Engineering with Emphasis on FLAC Modeling,” will be offered January 25-26, 2019 in downtown Los Angeles, California. Taught by Dr. Siavash Zamiran, P.E., ASCE Young Engineer of the Year (St. Louis region), this course is recommended for civil, geotechnical, mining, petroleum, and geological engineers. EERI members will receive a $200 discount by using the code “EERI” when registering. For more information, please click here.

NHERI@UCSD 4th Annual User Workshop: December 13 & 14

NHERI@UC San Diego is hosting its annual user workshop on December 13-14, 2018 at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla, CA. Future users interested in conducting research using the facility are encouraged to attend. This year a second day will include presentations from other NHERI Equipment Facilities (UC Davis, University of Washington-Rapid, and UC Berkeley-SimCenter). Travel funds may be available to support attendees from the U.S. who would like to attend the workshop. 

REGISTER

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Call for Abstracts: 5th Residential Building Design and Construction Conference at Penn State

The Pennsylvania Housing Research Center is hosting the 5th Residential Building Design & Construction Conference (RBDCC) on March 4-6, 2020 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College, PA. This paper submission-based conference provides a forum for researchers, architects, engineers, other design professionals, product manufacturers, builders, developers, and code officials to discuss challenges to sustainable, energy efficient, healthy, environmentally friendly, natural hazard resistant, and affordable residential construction, and share recent research findings, state-of-the-art technologies, and innovative projects and approaches in the field.

The Abstract Submission Deadline is March 18, 2019.
To view the Announcement and Call for Submissions, please click here.
Questions? Authors may contact Conference Secretariat Sarah Klinetob Lowe at slowe@engr.psu.edu.

 

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NHERI|Lehigh & FIU Joint User Workshop

NHERI|Lehigh & FIU Joint User Workshop
Event Date: December 3, 2018
Advanced Simulation for Natural Hazards Mitigation and Challenges/Opportunities for Multi-Hazards Engineering
NHERI Lehigh Experimental Facility Workshop: A collaborative workshop between NHERI Lehigh and NHERI Florida International University to be held at the NHERI Lehigh Real-Time Multi-Directional (RTMD) Facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

REGISTER

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Younger Members News

Younger Member Award: Deadline Nov. 26, 2018

Apply for the second annual EERI Younger Member Award!

APPLY NOW

The EERI Younger Members Committee (YMC) is now accepting applications from younger members who would like to be considered for the second annual Younger Member Award (YMA).

The purpose of this award is to recognize a younger member (preferably an EERI YMC member) who has demonstrated exceptional engagement and contributions primarily to the YMC committee but also to other EERI programs, committees, and projects. The recipient of this prestigious award will be recognized during the 2019 Annual Meeting held in Vancouver, BC in March and will receive a registration grant for the meeting.

The application deadline is November 26, 2018. Click here  to apply online. Results to be announced by December 15, 2019.

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News of the Profession

Links to News & Views

Seven (7) recent news articles, stories, opinions and reports from around the web.

NSF Creates $3M CONVERGE Center to Augment Natural Hazards Research (NHERI press release) To enhance the diversity of research underway in natural hazards, the NSF recently created CONVERGE, a $3 million research center at the University of Colorado Boulder. Lori Peek (M.EERI,2011), professor of sociology and director of the Natural Hazards Center at UCB, is the principal investigator. Read more

National Institute of Building Sciences Issues Second Report on the Value of Mitigation (NIBS Report) The latest report in a multi-year study on natural hazard mitigation was recently released by NIBS. The second in a series of interim results, Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure, examines the potential benefits associated with investing in mitigation for select utility and transportation infrastructure. Read more

Kaikōura's Earthquake Recovery Wins Prestigious Engineering Award (TVNZ) The NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail, and the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery alliance won the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) People’s Choice Award. The project was recognised in London for the way it's transformed people's lives, not only re-opening road and rail systems, but reconnecting people and allowing businesses to welcome back tourism. Read more

Video Shows Dramatic Landscape Changes Following Kāikoura Earthquake (NewsHub) A new video shows some of the dramatic landscape changes in Kāikoura on the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake. GNS Science released the footage, which shows some of the drastic changes along the Papatea Fault that ruptured during the quake. View the Video

Quakes, Mudslides, an Active Volcano: Inside the World's Riskiest City (The Guardian) Due to its unparalleled exposure to natural disasters, Manizales in central Colombia is globally recognised for its innovative approach to prevention and response. Read more

Tsunami are a Clear and Ever-Present Danger (Japan Times) According to an analysis of the emergency events data base maintained by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, nine of the ten strongest earthquakes ever recorded were accompanied by tsunami. This review puts lives lost from tsunami at 251,770, and economic losses at $280 billion between 1998 and 2017. Read more

A Look Back at Asia's Most Devastating Earthquakes (Time) With cities, dams and other infrastructure built atop some of the world’s most active faults, six of the ten deadliest quakes in recorded history happened in Asia, as did many of the most costly. Here’s a look at back at some of the most devastating temblors ever to strike the continent, beginning with the 1556 Shaanxi Earthquake in China that killed more than 830,000 people. Read more

 

 

 

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Opportunities

Job Listing: Geophysicist GS-1313-12/13 (DEU-YMJ):U.S. Dept. of the Interior

Open & closing dates: 11/01/2018 to 11/26/2018
Location: USGS, Menlo Park, CA

As a GEOPHYSICIST within the Earthquake Science Center, some of your specific duties will include:

-As manager of the National Strong Motion Data Center (NSMDC), the incumbent is responsible for ensuring that the seismic data recorded by the NSMP is gathered, rapidly and accurately processed, archived, and readily disseminated to the professional, scientific, and engineering communities. The incumbent is also responsible for organizing the metadata that describes the recording system characteristics of every station throughout the net...
See the full job posting on usajobs.gov for more information including responsibilities, requirements, compensation, and how to apply.

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Assistant Professor, Center for Earthquake Research and Information, University of Memphis

The Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at the University of Memphis invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant Professor level to begin in August 2019. We are searching broadly and seeking an individual to complement our existing strengths in seismology, geodesy, computational tectonics, earthquake physics and seismic hazard. We particularly encourage applicants with research interests related to Active tectonics, Continental/Lithospheric dynamics, Computational Geophysics, Exploration Geophysics, or Engineering Seismology. Applicants must have a Ph.D. at the time of employment and show a demonstrated record or strong promise of research productivity. Read more about this opportunity.

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Welcome New EERI Members

EERI Welcomes New Members to the Institute!

Regular Members

Jelisa Thomas Adams, Geocon West Inc.
Duke Crestfield, Triangle Engineering, Structural
Mathias Franke, Kinemetrics
Elliot Klein, FM Global, Research Division, Geophysicist
Sylvia Laboy, WeatherPredict Consulting Inc., Risk Analysis
Kevin Smith, Construction Specialties, Structural

Affiliate

Zewei Yu, Dalian University of Technology, Civil, China
Ercan Yüksel, Istanbul Technical University, Structural, Turkey

Young Professional

Jade Eriksen, Dynamic Isolation Systems
Nicole Errett, University of Washington, Health Science
Melissa Meikle, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Civil

E-Affiliate

Fabricio Alejandro Cortez Herrera, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Civil, Ecuador
Daniela Anaís Vivanco, Universidad de las Fuerzas ARMADAS ESPE, Civil, Ecuador
Elvis Fabricio Curay, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Civil, Ecuador
Jessenia Jacqueline jácome, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Civil, Ecuador
Bryan Mauricio Luna, Universidad de las Fueras Armadas Espe, Civil, Ecuador
Santiago Ramiro Changoluisa, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Civil, Ecuador
Abdullah Talha Mace, Istanbul Technical University, Civil, Turkey
Camila Yessena Bahamonde, University, Civil, Ecuador
Gabriela Soria, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Civil, Ecuador
Edwin Guama, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Civil, Ecuador
Elias Tavera, ERN, Structural, Mexico
Hüseyin Ertuğrul Yıldız, Istanbul Technical University, Architect, Turkey
Emre Niyazi Yazilikaya, Istanbul Technical University, Mechanical, Turkey

 

Welcome New Student Members!

Sevgi Aksu, Istanbul Technical University, Urban Planner
Andrei Bogdan Albu, TUCN, Architect
Solongo Altanpurev, San Francisco State University, Civil
Isabella Animadu, Cornell University
Kianosh Ashkani Zadeh, University of British Columbia 
Patricia Asiatico, Virginia Tech, Structural
Bela Bacs, TUCN, Civil
Romana Dariana Benea, TUCN, Architect
Stephanie Chausow, University of Michigan, Structural
Leonardo Gigoth Chávez , Universidad Politecnica Salesiana , Civil
Xian Chen, Dalian University of Technology, Structural
Norbert Ors Deac, TUCN, Civil
Allie Decker, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Structural
Sahin Ozdogan Dede, Bogazici University/Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, Civil
Scott deGuzman, University of Nevada, Reno, Civil
Donald Allan DeMartino, Virginia Tech, Civil
Gemma Dey, Virginia Tech, Materials
Emilio J Diaz, California State University, Northridge, Civil
Leah Dixon, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Structural
Adam Doodokyan, University of Nevada, Reno, Civil
Akın Düzgün, Istanbul Technical University, Civil

Brayan Emmanuel, Universidad Autonoma De Baja California, Civil
Meredith Fyfe, Western University, Seismologist
Zsolt Gedo, TUCN, Architect
Harpreet Gill, California State University, Sacramento, Geotechnical
Paul Ginter, California State University Northridge, Civil
Ashton Hunter, University of Nevada, Reno, Civil
Omar Issa, UCLA, Structural
Chris Magnani Jackson, Virginia Tech, Structural
Courtney C Jones, Virginia Tech, Civil
Bishal Khadka, Virginia Tech, Structural
Alex Komada, Virginia Tech, Mechanical
Anjali Kumar, CSU Sacramento, Civil
Ravi Kumar, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Structural
Lenn Kushigemachi, UCLA, Structural
Yin Sheng Li, Dalian University Of Technology, Structural
Eric Lin, University of California, Berkeley
Anthony Logrono Rodriguez, UNIBE, Civil
Ligia Lupaescu, TUCN, Civil
Ian McManus, Virginia Tech, Civil
Britani Mendoza, University, Civil
Luis Merchán, Universidad Politecnica Salesiana, Civil
Stephania Moreno, California State University, Chico, Civil
Camila Moya , PUCMM, Civil
Elod Nagy, TUCN, Civil
Ors Nagy, TUCN, Civil
Irma Nazario Rivera, UC Irvine, Civil
Victor Padilla De Dios, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Civil
Yi Peng, University of California, Los Angeles, Structural
Rowland Perez, University of Nevada, Reno, Civil
Gabriela Petrut, TUCN, Civil
Daniel Petrut, TUCN, Civil
Alexandrea Ramiro, San Francisco State University, Civil
Kevin Reyes, Cornell University, Civil
Josue Rocha, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Civil
Sabrina Rodriguez, California State University, Long Beach, Civil
William Roser, University of Nevada, Reno, Civil
Caden Rouiller, California State University Chico, Civil
Rashid Safi, California State University Northridge, Civil
Andy Sanchez, California State University, Northridge, Civil
Mohamed Sayed, University of Toronto, Civil
Benjamin Schnatz, University of Nebraska, Structural
Dustin Seghorn, University of Nevada, Reno, Civil
Mustafa Shafique, Virginia Tech, Architect
Margaret Stack, University of California, Berkeley, Structural
Andrew Stephenson, University of Nevada, Reno, Civil
Andrei Szilagyi, TUCN, Civil
Jessi Thangjitham, North Carolina State University, Structural
Pin Qing Wang, Dalian University of Technology, Structural
Anye Wang, Virginia Tech
Leon Yen, San Francisco State university , Civil
Hawariawu Yohannes, Virginia Tech, Civil
Chi Kit Yuen, San Francisco State University, Civil
Juan Zermeno, California State University, Sacramento, Civil

 

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