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News of the Profession

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute

Founded in 1948, EERI's mission is to reduce earthquake risk by (1) advancing the science and practice of earthquake engineering, (2) improving understanding of the impact of earthquakes on the physical, social, economic, political, and cultural environment, and (3) advocating comprehensive and realistic measures for reducing the harmful effects of earthquakes.

News of the Institute

EERI Honorary Members: Thalia Anagnos and Marshall Lew

 The EERI Board of Directors has selected Thalia Anagnos (M. EERI, 1982) and Marshall Lew (M. EERI, 1978) as Honorary Members of the Institute. Honorary Membership is awarded to recognize members who have made sustained and outstanding contributions to the field of earthquake engineering and to EERI and the pursuit of its objectives. Presentation of EERI Honorary Memberships will take place at the 2018 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, California, during the Honors Ceremony Lunch on Thursday, June 28, at 12:00 Noon.

Thalia Anagnos (M.EERI,1982)

Thalia Anagnos Head High ResThalia Anagnos (M.EERI,1982) is the Associate Vice President of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs at San José State University (SJSU). For more than 30 years, she served as a SJSU faculty member and taught courses in subjects ranging from basic mechanics and structural design to technical writing. In 2012 she received the SJSU Outstanding Professor Award. Her research and professional interests have been in the areas of seismic hazard, loss estimation, reliability, and engineering education. She was the Assistant Project Manager   of the development team for HAZUS, the national standardized loss estimation methodology. Most recently, as a team member of the NEES Grand Challenge on the Mitigation of Collapse Risk in Older Concrete Buildings, she helped develop approaches to inform mitigation priorities. This work has supported efforts by the City of Los Angeles to develop policies to reduce risk from older concrete buildings.  

Dr. Anagnos served for 20 years on the organizing committee for the SJSU Expanding Your Horizons Conference to interest more young women in mathematics, science and  engineering. As the co-Leader of Education, Outreach, and Training for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), she led the NEES Research Experience for Undergraduates (NEES REU) that engaged 239 students from 2009-2014 in a dynamic 10-week summer research program where they conducted independent research as team members on complex large-scale experimental research projects. Many of these students were from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the field of engineering, exemplifying Dr. Anagnos’s dedication to diversifying and increasing the number of students in earthquake engineering research. 

Dr. Anagnos discovered EERI as a graduate student, where she met future mentors such as Frank McClure and Don Jephcott.  At the encouragement of these mentors she has served  in many roles including EERI President from 2006-2008, as a Board Member at large from 1999-2002, as the former editor of the EERI newsletter, and as a former member of the Editorial Board of the EERI journal Earthquake Spectra. She currently is a Co-Chair for EERI’s School Earthquake Safety Initiative’s Classroom Education and Outreach Subcommittee, and the Chair of the Learning From Earthquakes Travel Study Program that is designing immersive reconnaissance training and learning experiences for young professional and student members of the Institute.

Dr. Anagnos has dedicated her career to earthquake engineering, educational innovation, student development, and educational outreach. Through her many activities, she has  influenced the lives and careers of thousands of students. The unique programs she has created, like the NEES REU, EERI LFE Travel Study Program, and SJSU Expanding Your Horizons Conference, have inspired the next generation of leaders in earthquake engineering. In these many roles, her dedication to EERI has been unwavering and her passion for helping the next generation continues to inspire.  

Marshall Lew (M.EERI,1978)

Marshall Lew.v2Marshall Lew (M.EERI,1978) was born of Chinese immigrants from China and was born and raised in Los Angeles.  His parents emphasized the importance of getting a good education and always doing what is right.  He attended Castelar Elementary School, Florence Nightingale Junior High School and Belmont High School, all near or in sight of downtown Los  Angeles, which did not have tall buildings until the 1960s with the exception of the 32-story Los Angeles City Hall which dominated the skyline of Los Angeles from 1928; there was a 13-story  height limitation on buildings in Los Angeles until almost 1960 because of the fear of earthquakes.  When the first skyscrapers towered taller than City Hall in downtown Los Angeles, Marshall developed a fascination with the elegant buildings reaching to the sky.

Marshall was accepted for undergraduate study in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at UCLA in 1967 and pursued Civil and Structural Engineering as a major.  Important influences in the undergraduate years were Professors C. Martin Duke (President of EERI from 1970 to 1973), Gary C. Hart and Kenneth L. Lee who exposed Marshall to Engineering Seismology, Structural Engineering and Geotechnical Engineering.  After graduating with a B.S. in Engineering, Marshall continued at UCLA for a Master of Science degree under Prof. Hart and analyzed the response of buildings during the San Fernando earthquake.  At the same time, Marshall also worked with Prof. Lee on the dynamic response of an existing hydraulic filled dam in Southern California to earthquake ground motion and evaluation of the liquefaction potential; it was during this assignment that Marshall also had the opportunity to meet and work with Prof. H. Bolton Seed of the University of California, Berkeley.  Prof. Hart convinced Marshall to continue his Ph.D. studies at UCLA as a Graduate Assistant and completed a dissertation on Microzonation for Wind Loading on Structures. 

After completing his Ph.D., Marshall was an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at California State University Long Beach teaching structural and geotechnical engineering courses and serving as undergraduate advisor for one year.  Despite having a Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, Marshall then joined LeRoy Crandall and Associates (LC&A), a geotechnical engineering firm in Los Angeles in 1977 and became an Associate in 1979.  A background in structural engineering enabled Marshall to be able to relate to Structural Engineers and understand what they needed from geotechnical engineers.  LC&A was acquired by Law Engineering in 1982, and after several other acquisitions, is now part of Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure, Inc.  During over 40 years with LC&A and its successors, Marshall has had several mentors who have greatly influenced his career.  Notably, the greatest influence had been from L. LeRoy Crandall and Robert Chieruzzi, who were active members of EERI.  Under their mentorship, Marshall developed as a Geotechnical and Earthquake Engineer that has worked on signature projects such as the 72-story Library Square Tower (US Bank Building), Foothill Law & Justice Center (first base-isolated building in the US), USC University Hospital (first base-isolated hospital in the US), Metro Blue, Metro Green and Metro Gold Lines Transit projects in Los Angeles County, and the Wilshire-Grand Tower.

Marshall has been active on the Seismology Committee of the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California and was the Chair of Ground Motions Subcommittee for several years; he was awarded the Stephenson B. Barnes Award from SEASOC for his work on provisions for the SEAOC Blue Book in 1990.  Marshall is currently serving a third 4-year term as a member of the California Hospital Building Safety Board and has served many years as a member of the State of California Strong Motion Instrumentation Advisory Committee.  Marshall has been involved in the development of guidelines for Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE) design of tall buildings through the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center’s Tall Building Initiative (TBI) and the Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council (LATBSDC) which has produced a PBEE guideline for design and analysis of tall buildings in the Los Angeles region; Marshall and others involved in the development of the LATBSDC were awarded the Stephenson B. Barnes Award in 2012 by SEAOSC.

A member of EERI for over 40 years, Marshall has been an active member in the Southern California Chapter (which he was a founding member and President) and in the national leadership of EERI, serving as Secretary-Treasurer for six years.  He has chaired the organization of an annual meeting of EERI and has also served on the Technical Seminar Committee.  Marshall was one of the Geotechnical Engineering leaders for the EERI earthquake reconnaissance for the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and was the leader of the EERI earthquake reconnaissance team investigating the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province of China.  Marshall also was on reconnaissance teams investigating the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan and 2010 Offshore Maule, Chile earthquakes.

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EERI Member Spotlight

Surya Narayan Shrestha appointed as Executive Director of NSET

Surya ShresthaThe Governing Board of the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) in Nepal has appointed  Surya Narayan Shrestha (M.EERI,2014) as Executive Director to be effective from March 21, 2018. Mr. Shrestha will be stepping into the position held by Dr. Amod Mani Dixit who has served as the Executive Director since the establishment of NSET and will remain with the organization as the General Secretary of the Governing Board. 

Mr. Shrestha has a ten-year record of management and leadership in Earthquake Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction. He is a member of EERI's Housner Fellows Class of 2014 and served as co-leader of EERI’s reconnaissance activities for the Nepal-Gorkha Earthquake of April 25, 2015. Most recently, Mr. Shrestha served as Technical Advisor to the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), and played an important role in supplementing vital information in formulating national level policies, plans and programs for post-earthquake reconstruction. He is also serving as a member of the Governing Board of Global Earthquake Model (GEM). Before that, Mr. Shrestha led many successful projects and programs under his service at NSET as the Deputy Executive Director and Senior Structural Engineer.

Photo: Surya Shrestha (far right)
Credit: NSET

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Opportunities

Job Opening: Build Change

BuildChange
Build Change
is seeking an Engineering Program Associate. The position is a key supplement to the Build Change Engineering Program, providing expertise, mentorship and quality assurance to programs and projects globally. This position works directly with engineering teams composed of national and international staff, travels to program offices and new project locations, applying experience and knowledge in structural engineering to new contexts and systems which may not already have well-established standards.  

The successful candidate will be able to support multiple facets of Build Change’s work: mitigation and reduction of risk from the next disaster through optimizing solutions for proactive retrofitting of housing and schools at scale; ensuring communities are empowered to reconstruct to disaster-resistant standards through developing and teaching cost-effective, locally appropriate, and clear guidelines for design and construction of houses and schools; and helping to make solutions permanent and sustainable by working with local professionals and governments to institutionalize them.

Learn more about the position, qualifications, and application process.

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Announcements

Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council: 2018 Conference

LA Tall Bldgs.web
New Developments in Structural Design of Tall Buildings

Date: Friday, May 4, 2018
Time: 8:00 AM TO 5:30 PM
Location: Federal Reserve Bank of Los Angeles
950 South Grand Ave., 5th floor, Los Angeles, California 

The 2018 LATBSDC conference will cover a variety of topics related to recent advances in structural design of tall and special buildings. Distinguished speakers will present topics ranging from discussing new tall buildings in Los Angeles and elsewhere, new innovations for structural resilience, lessons earned from recent earthquakes, design ground motion issues, and 2018 supplements to the 2017 LATBSDC Guidelines. In addition, a panel discussion will be held covering various topics presented during the conference.

Please register early, space is limited!

For more information on how to register, the list of speakers and the meeting location, view the full announcement.

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Welcome New Members

EERI welcomes new members to the Institute (February 14 – March 15, 2018)

E-Affiliate
Vijaykumar Bhusare, Civil
Bryan Gudiño, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Civil
Charugalla JP Sreeram, LERA India, Structural
Daniel J. Look, Cal Poly Pomona, Civil
Wilson S. Lopez, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Civil
Holger M. Lovon, Quispe Pontificia Universidad Catholica del Peru, Civil
Nicolas Sebastian Morocho, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Civil
Ricardo Gonzalo Pilco, Civil
Jose Manuel  Velazquez, Civil
Harsoda Babu Velji
Maria Vilela, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Civil

Regular
Giuseppe Abbiati, ETH Zürich, Structural
Kristen Chang, Geotechnical
James D. Gless, HG Schlicker & Associates, Inc., Geotechnical
Xinzheng Lu, Tsinghua University, Structural
Mariantonietta Morga, Anglia Ruskin University
Christopher Ong, Marx|Okubo Associates, Structural
Brian Phillips, University of Maryland
Pher Errol Quinay, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Structural
Norman Sleep, Stanford University

Retired
Makoto Kawamura, Toyohashi University of Technology, Civil
Kenny Kan, Architect
William Siembieda, California Polytechnic State University, Urban Planner

Young Professional
Flavia De Luca, University of Bristol, Structural
Thanh Do, University of California, Berkeley, Structural
Jazalyn Dukes, NIST, Structural
Davide Giannuzzi, Odeh Engineers, Structural
Ioannis Gidaris, Rice University, Structural
Jacquelyn Gilchrist, University of Southern California, Geophysicist
Erin Wirth Moriarty, USGS, Seismologist
Chukwuebuka Nweke, University of California, Los Angeles, Geotechnical
David Padilla-Llano, Structural
Xin Qian, Structural
Zeyang Sun, Civil
Sui Tung, Geophysicist
Shanshan Wang, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, Risk Analysis

 

 

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News of the Profession

Links to Recent News & Views

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

1oneHow to Survive the Cascadia Earthquake: Tips from Seismologist Lucy Jones, ‘the Beyoncé of Earthquakes' (Seattle Times) For three decades, seismologist Lucy Jones (M.EERI,2001) soothed the nerves of quake-rattled Californians with her calm explanations and common-sense preparedness tips. This interview took place during a recent visit to Seattle when Dr. Jones presented the EERI Distinguished Lecture. Read more

2twoMexico Earthquake Devastation Spurs California Cities to Action, Despite the Costs (Los Angeles Times) A number of cities big and small in Southern California are taking steps to identify seismically vulnerable buildings for the first time in a generation, acting in part on the devastating images of earthquake damage in Mexico and elsewhere around the world. Read more

3threeUrban Planning Can Help Develop Cities With Reduced Seismic Risk (Science Daily) Sandra Martínez Cuevas (M.EERI,2014) and a team of researchers from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) suggest a new methodology to establish urban modifiers that affect the building habitability in seismic risk areas. Read more

4fourEarthquakes - 2001-2015 Dataset | Science On a Sphere (NOAA) This animation shows every recorded earthquake in sequence as they occurred from January 1, 2001, through December 31, 2015, at a rate of 30 days per second. The earthquake hypocenters first appear as flashes then remain as colored circles before shrinking with time. Read more

5fiveTwo Hundred of WA State’s K-12 Schools are Within a Mile of an Active Earthquake Fault (Emergency Management) Of approximately 2,000 K-12 school campuses in Washington State, consisting of about 4,400 permanent and about 4,800 portable buildings, about 200 of those are within a mile of an active fault, and 214 of those are in moderate to high liquefaction zones. Read more

6sixEvidence for Gravity Tectonics After the Great Sumatra Quake (Earth & Space Science News) A new method that applies structural geology principles to aftershock analyses suggests that gravity-driven motion may occur during part of the seismic cycle. Read more

7sevenEurope’s Biggest Gas Field To Close Over Quake Risk (Oilprice) Groningen has been pumping gas for more than half a century and supplies gas to 98 percent of the Dutch population. But the field has been causing earthquakes that have become a growing concern for residents and authorities. Read more

 

 

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Save these dates for upcoming EERI events!

EERI San Diego Regional Chapter Events: August 2018

Using DEEPSOIL: An equivalent linear and nonlinear seismic site response analysis software platform
Thursday, August 23, 2018
A 1-day short course led by Professor Youssef Hashash (M.EERI,1999), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Location: California State University, San Diego
View the course description


Kenji Ishihara Colloquium Series on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering
Seismic Settlements
Friday, August 24, 2018
Location: California State University, San Diego
Hardy Memorial Tower

Registration for both events will open soon.
Please check The Pulse on April 15, 2018 and your inbox for details.

11NCEE: June 25-29, 2018

11NCEE Banner 468x60
The Eleventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering
& EERI 70th Annual Meeting
June 25-29, 2018
Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites
Los Angeles, California
View the conference website.
Register for the conference
Don't delay. Rates increase on June 1, 2018

EERI 71st Annual Meeting (2019)

eeri logo icon
EERI 71st Annual Meeting

March 5-8, 2019
Vancouver, Canada

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Welcome New Student Members

EERI welcomes new student members to the Institute (February 14 – March 15, 2018)

Daisy Ma, University of British Columbia, Structural
Raffaello Marinelli, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Civil
Sam Massinople, North Carolina State University, Structural
Nicola Matthews, North Carolina State University, Structural  

Faizan Ul Haq Mir, Structural
Sefrah Muhammad, Architect
Chanipa Netrattana, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Structural
Cheuk Ming Ng, University of California, Berkeley, Architect
Tyler Oathes, University of California, Davis, Geotechnical
Maximilian E. Ororbia, Structural
Yi Peng, Structural
Lorena Polovina, University of British Columbia, Structural
Ahmad Rahmzadeh, University of British Columbia
Anoush Camille Razavian, Civil
Andrew J. Robinson, University of Memphis, Structural
Wiriyachai Roopkumdee, Civil
Vivian Sam, University of British Columbia, Civil
Daniel Sandoval, Civil
Sage Shamsai, Civil
Sumeet Kumar Sinha, University of California, Davis, Education
Patrick G. Stetco, California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, Civil
Rhyan F. Sullivan, University of Massachusetts, Civil
Shreya Thusoo, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Structural
Clayton R. Toews, University of British Columbia, Structural
Yi Victor Wang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Civil
Joel White, Architect
Kimberly Williams, Civil
Alvin Wong, University of California, Davis, Structural
Lanlan Yang, Civil
Shengyi Yao, Civil
Hyunkyung Yoon,University of California, Berkeley, Civil
Chingching Yu, Civil
Juan Pablo Zepeda, Universidad Rafael Landivar, Structural

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Younger Members Award

Application Deadline: April 15, 2018

Award Ribbon.EERIApply Now

The EERI Younger Members Committee (YMC) is now accepting applications from individuals who are members of the committee, and would like to be considered for the inaugural Younger Member Award (YMA).

The purpose of this award is to recognize a YMC member who has demonstrated exceptional engagement and contributions primarily to the YMC committee (and secondarily, to other EERI programs, committees, and projects). The awardee will be recognized during the 11th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering (11NCEE) in June and the winner will receive a registration grant for the conference. The application deadline is April 15th, 2018. Results to be announced by May 7, 2018. 

The general rules of the competition are as follows:

  • Applicant must be a current YMC member in good standing who has  participated in EERI and committee activities over the prior year(s).
  • Applicant must not be a current and/or past YMC co-chair (in future YMA award years, applicant cannot be the YMA awardee from the prior year).
  • Application Process and Deadline: All application materials must be completed and submitted here by April 15, 2018. 

For additional information or questions about the YMA please email ymc@eeri.org.

If you are not currently a member of YMC and would like to join the committee to participate in committee activities and be eligible for next year’s YMA award, please email ymc@eeri.org.

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Learning from Earthquakes

Learning from Earthquakes Webinar: Case Studies from the September 19, 2017 Mexico Earthquake

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR

Date: Thursday, April 5, 2018

TIme: 10:00 AM -12:00 PM PDT

Speakers: John Eidinger (M.EERI,1987), Marty Hudson (M.EERI,1994), Ezra Jampole (M.EERI,2012), Prateek Shah,  Jennifer Lan (M.EERI,2017), and Mark Yashinsky

During this free webinar, speakers who conducted reconnaissance following the September 19, 2017 Puebla-Morelos earthquake will present geotechnical and structural case studies. Case studies will include: 

  • Foundation failure of structure on piles by Marty Hudson, AMEC Foster Wheeler 
  • Two 8-story buildings in Mexico City near collapse by Ezra Jampole, Exponent 
  • Pre-1985 building more heavily damaged in 2017 Earthquake than in 1985 earthquake by Prateek Shah, Purdue University
  • Analysis of damaged building in Mexico City by Jennifer Lan, Gilsanz Murray Steficek 
  • Performance of eight bridges in Mexico City and Morelos by Mark Yashinsky, Caltrans
  • Performance of water and power systems in Mexico City by John Eidinger, G&E Engineering Systems Inc.

EERI Reconnaissance Co-Lead Gilberto Mosqueda (M.EERI,2001), University of California San Diego, will moderate the webinar. To register for the webinar please click here

Questions about this webinar? Please email Omar Plata at omar@eeri.org


  

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In Memoriam

Roland L. Sharpe (1923 - 2018)

Roland SharpeThe EERI Board of Directors and staff extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Roland L. Sharpe (M.EERI,1970), who passed away last month at age 95.

Roland "Rol" Sharpe's long and distinguished career commenced upon earning B.S.E. and M.S.E. degrees from the University of Michigan. In 1950 Sharpe joined the engineering firm of John A. Blume and Associates in California. He was the principal seismic consultant and design reviewer for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for 20 nuclear power plants. Sharpe joined the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) in 1970 and served a term on the Board of Directors from 1971 to 1974. Stanley Scott (1921-2002) conducted several interviews with Sharpe for the EERI Oral History Connections series in 1989, 1991, and 1998. The unfinished manuscript is being reviewed and considered for release later this year. Sharpe was awarded EERI Honorary Membership in 2005 in recognition of his major contributions to earthquake engineering and the practice of seismic design and construction. 

Sharpe's many notable achievements are exemplified by his design practice, his work with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), his leadership in establishing and serving as the first executive director of the Applied Technology Council (ATC), and his leadership in cooperative exchanges with Japanese earthquake engineers. He chaired the SEAOC Ad Hoc Committee to develop a plan to transfer more effectively the results of seismic-resistant research to the practicing engineer. ATC reports have had a major worldwide impact on building codes and seismic hazard planning. Sharpe was vice-chairman of the SEAOC Vision 2000 Committee, which resulted in the publication in 1995 of Vision 2000, Performance-Based Seismic Engineering of Buildings.In 1998, ATC recognized his work with the Award of Excellence for Extraordinary Achievement in Seismic Design of New Buildings.

Sharpe's outstanding committment to the development of seismic and structural design criteria, assessment and strengthening of hazardous buildings, peer review of major retrofit and new design projects, and the design of new projects, has been recognized by many professional associations. In addition to being named an EERI Honorary Member, he was also a JSCA Honorary Member; ASCE Distinguished Member; SEAOC Honorary College of Fellows; SEAONC Honorary Member; and India-ACE Honorary Fellow Member.

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Calendar

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