EERI Newsletter, June 2004 Volume 38, Number 6 News of the Institute EERI and Australian Earthquake Engineering Society Sign Cooperative Agreement EERI President Thomas D. O’Rourke recently joined Michael Griffith, presi- dent of the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society (AEES), in signing a Scientific and Technical Collaboration Agreement between the two organiza- tions. The objective of the agreement is to promote and sponsor collaboration be- tween both organizations, with the goal of participating jointly in scientific and EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING technical activities in areas of common interest related to earthquake engi- RESEARCH INSTITUTE neering. In order to achieve this objective, EERI and AEES agreed to • develop an agenda of common problems and areas of opportunity in earth- NEWSLETTER quake engineering, • exchange selected publications and other information, Editor Thalia Anagnos • develop joint publications and information on mitigation measures, Associate Editors Sarah Nathe • carry out joint research programs, Gerald Brady • organize seminars and conferences, Editorial Assistant Eloise Gilland • engage in exchange of scholars to participate in conferences, colloquia, Earthquake Engineering symposia, and special short-term courses, Research Institute 499 14th Street, Suite 320 continued on page 3 Oakland, California 94612-1934 Phone: 510/451-0905 Fax: 510/451-5411 News of the Profession E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.eeri.org Roblee Selected as the First Executive Director ISSN 0270-8337 Reproduction with attribution is permitted. of the NEES Consortium The Board of Directors of the NEES Consor- EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING tium, Inc. has named EERI member Dr. Cliff RESEARCH INSTITUTE Roblee as executive director, concluding an in-depth competitive selection process con- PRESIDENT Thomas D. O’Rourke ducted over the past several months. Roblee is currently the chief of geotechnical and PRESIDENT-ELECT ground motion research for the California Craig D. Comartin Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and has been extensively involved in the devel- VICE PRESIDENT Mary C. Comerio opment and guidance of the PEER-Lifelines Cliff Roblee program, an industry-sponsored applied SECRETARY-TREASURER earthquake research partnership. He received Ronald L. Mayes his Ph.D. in geotechnical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. BOARD OF DIRECTORS NEES President Ian Buckle said on behalf of the NEES Consortium Board: “I John L. Aho am delighted that we have been able to attract a person of Cliff’s caliber … Donald Ballantyne Cliff is highly regarded in the geotechnical earthquake engineering commu- Bruce R. Clark Craig D. Comartin nity for his leadership in collaborative research, his excellent technical and Mary C. Comerio organizational skills, and his ability to connect with audiences of all ages. Ronald L. Mayes This is a key appointment for NEES and speaks well for the future of the con- Farzad Naeim sortium and the ultimate success of the NEES Collaboratory. I look forward to Sarah Nathe Cliff’s tenure with great confidence.” Thomas D. O’Rourke Roblee will lead a consortium headquarters organization of approximately 18 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Susan K. Tubbesing individuals who will function in the areas of finance and administration; equip- continued on page 5 1 EERI Newsletter, June 2004 Volume 38, Number 6 EERI Newsletter, June 2004 Volume 38, Number 6 • Social science contributions under Announcement NEHRP, both in terms of knowl- edge creation and utilization. Multihazard Summer • Contributions of the social sciences since the creation of NEHRP to Institute the understanding of natural, tech- The 2004 Multihazard Building De- nological, and human-induced haz- sign Summer Institute is offering ards faced by communities in the four courses in hazard mitigation, nation. including one course entitled Topics • Challenges posed for the social in Performance-Based Earthquake science disaster research commu- Engineering, which will be pre- Disaster Research in nity due to the expectation that, sented July 26-29, 2004. The other like other relevant disciplines, it courses, Wind Mitigation Design, the Social Sciences will become a major partner in Flood Mitigation Design, and Fire Safe Design, are offered July 19-22. The National Academy of Sciences integrated hazard and disaster The courses will be presented at the (NAS) was recently awarded a Na- research. Emergency Management Institute, tional Science Foundation (NSF) • Opportunities for bridging the gap located in Emmitsburg, Maryland. grant to conduct a detailed appraisal between social scientists who of the short and long-term chal- study natural disasters and those The four-day courses are designed lenges facing the social science dis- who investigate technological for engineering faculty, with the ex- aster research community, and new risks. pectation that course attendees will and emerging opportunities for ad- • Likely impact of key societal utilize the course material in under- vancing knowledge in the field and changes — such as the emer- graduate and graduate curriculum its application for the benefit of soci- gence of new technologies, em- development. The summer institute ety. According to the project descrip- phasis on new hazards, and a courses are offered free of charge, tion, the study “should provide a changing emergency manage- including travel costs, to qualified basis for planning future social sci- ment profession — on how disas- applicants. A prerequisite for the ence and multidisciplinary research ter research is done and on what earthquake course includes previ- related to natural, technological, and is studied by social scientists in ous attendance at the Institute’s willful disasters in response to chal- the future. Introduction to Earthquake Engi- lenges and opportunities presented neering Course, or permission from • by a changing nation and world.” Challenges of postdisaster investi- the lead instructor. gations and opportunities to in- Several EERI members are partici- crease their value. The Topics in Performance-Based pating on the NAS committee for the • Future opportunities for collabora- Engineering course includes ses- project, including Thomas Birkland, tive international research. sions on Principles of Performance Stephanie Chang, Robert Olson, Based Earthquake Engineering, • Kimberly Shoaf, and Kathleen Tier- Opportunities for meeting the Seismic Hazard and Seismic Risk ney. EERI member William Anderson challenge of furthering the applica- Analysis, Geotechnical Earthquake is the responsible NAS staff officer. tion of research results. Engineering, Ground Motion Selec- The committee is chaired by Gary • Future workforce needs and op- tion and Scaling, Nonlinear Static Kreps, professor of sociology and portunities to meet them. and Dynamic Analysis Procedures, vice-provost at the College of William A final report will be issued at the Passive Energy Systems, and Seis- and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. end of the project in approximately mic Isolation Systems. Each lesson is enhanced with a variety of indi- The study will start by examining the 18 months. The committee held its vidual and group exercises. The contributions and accomplishments first meeting on April 23, 2004. latest versions of computer pro- of the social sciences through the EERI members and others who are grams NONLIN, NONLIN-Pro, and National Earthquake Hazards Re- interested in providing feedback to EQTools are provided to each parti- duction Program (NEHRP), the the committee and monitoring cipant for use at the Institute and in program that, through NSF, has progress on this project can visit their own college classrooms. provided much of the support for the the NAS web site (www. social science effort to date. nationalacademies.org/). Click on Complete course information Current Projects, and then enter and application materials may be The study will examine the following the name of this project: Disaster obtained from training.fema.gov/ areas: Research in the Social Sciences. emiweb/MBDSI/. 2 3 EERI Newsletter, June 2004 Volume 38, Number 6 EERI Newsletter, June 2004 Volume 38, Number 6 News of the Profession News of the Profession Nominations Sought Elnashai Succeeds Abrams as Director of for Awards of Mid-America Earthquake Center Excellence Dr. Amr Elnashai has been named director of the Mid-America Earthquake Center (MAE), suc- ceeding Dr. Daniel Abrams, who had been Nominations are being sought for director since 1997. The center focuses on the the 2004 National Awards of Excel- infrequent but high-consequence seismic events lence, which will be presented at the that are typical in the eastern and central United National Earthquake Conference, States. The center’s research is directed at “con- September 26-30, 2004, St. Louis sequence-based engineering” and includes de- Missouri. velopment of enabling technologies to synthesize The awards are given to persons, damage across regions, mitigation methods to organizations, or agencies that have minimize earthquake consequences, and better contributed significantly to address- Amr Elnashai definitions of seismic hazards. ing earthquake risk reduction within the United States through their Elnashai’s research interests are experimental, analytical, and field investiga- achievements, leadership, and dedi- tions of the seismic response of concrete, steel, and composite buildings and cation. Special emphasis is placed bridges. He is the director of the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simu-