The eighth Shah Family Innovation Prize was awarded to Ellen M. Rathje, associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, in recognition of her outstanding research and contributions to professional practice.

Rathje's work on the coupled seismic and stick-slip response of potential sliding masses was innovative and insightful, and has been translated into guidelines that are used in California for analyzing and mitigating landslide hazards. She has more recently developed an in-situ dynamic liquefaction test that has the potential to change the way in which liquefaction is studied, and she has demonstrated leadership in bringing optical satellite imagery to the earthquake engineering field. She earned a B.S. at Cornell University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering at the University of California at Berkeley.

Endowed by a generous gift from the Haresh Shah family, the $10,000 Shah Family Innovation Prize is awarded annually to younger professionals and academics for creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in the field of earthquake risk mitigation and management. The prize recognizes and honors individuals who have been involved in the development of cutting-edge, innovative solutions to problems in earthquake engineering and related disciplines. Recipients should be in the developing or expanding stage of his or her career, with the promise of important contributions ahead.

The Shah Family Innovation Prize Selection Committee was charged with narrowing a very impressive field of candidates down to a single awardee. Follow this link for a description of the nomination process and selection criteria.