Larry Fahnestock

Larry Fahnestock, a Ph.D. candidate in Civil Engineering at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has been selected as the NEHRP Graduate Fellow in Earthquake Hazard Reduction. The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute awards this fellowship each year in a cooperative program with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. The award is given to foster the participation of capable individuals in furthering the goals and practice of earthquake hazard mitigation. The fellowship provides $12,000 for a nine-month stipend and $8,000 for tuition, fees, and research expenses.

Fahnestock was chosen from a group of ten applicants. The applications were reviewed by Eric Williamson and Oguzhan Bayrak from the University of Texas and Reginald DesRoches from the Georgia Institute of Technology. The candidates were drawn from eight universities in California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington. They represented the field of geography and several disciplines within engineering, including structural, civil, geotechnical, and environmental.

Fahnestock is researching the behavior of post-tensioned steel eccentrically braced frames (PT EBFs) during strong earthquakes. Because PT EBFs have the ability to limit drift and return buildings to their original positions with minimal damage, they hold potential promise for use in the design of critical structures in areas of high seismic activity. Fahnestock's goal is to develop performance-based design guidelines for the practical implementation of PT EBFs. His project is part of the U.S.-Japan Collaborative Research Program on Earthquake Engineering.

According to Robert Tremblay, Professor of Structural Engineering, at the École Polytechnique Montreal, Fahnestock's study "…uses a very promising technique that should lead to a significantly more robust response under strong seismic events" and "should result in a major contribution to the mitigation of seismic hazard."

The objective of EERI is to reduce earthquake risk by advancing the science and practice of earthquake engineering, improving understanding of the impact of earthquakes on the physical, social, economic, political and cultural environment, and by advocating comprehensive and realistic measures for reducing the harmful effects of earthquakes.

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
499 14th Street, Suite 320
Oakland, California 94612-1934

(510) 451-0905 fax: (510) 451-5411