Stanford’s Anne Kiremidjian Studies Aftermath of Earthquakes OCTOBER 23, 2014 THE CALIFORNIA COURIER, PAGE 13 Stanford Report ing Center was forming. I was at By Tom Abate the center of all of these devel- opments, and many doors were Civil engineering Professor opened for me." She took an in- Anne Kiremidjian was idling at tegral part in the growth of the a traffic light near the Stanford center, including serving as co- campus at 5:04 p.m. on Oct. 17, director from 1987 to 1994 and 1989, when she felt a sudden jolt director from 1995 to 2002. and thought her car had been rear- She became an assistant profes- ended. sor in civil engineering in 1978, "I looked up but there was noth- advancing to associate profes- ing behind me in the mirror," she sor in 1985 and full professor in recalled on the 25th anniversary 1991. of the Loma Prieta earthquake. When Loma Prieta struck Stan- "Then I noticed the traffic light ford, all these experiences came swaying overhead and the cars in home. front of me moving up and down Among other lessons, the tem- like a wave." Queens College, where she start- blor proved that it was possible Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan is welcomed by Inter- Kiremedjian had, of course, wit- ed classes in 1968. to re-engineer older buildings. national Monetary Fund Managing Director Christiane Lagarde. nessed the seismic wave caused "In one instant my life turned A case in point was Roble Hall. by the 6.9 magnitude quake that around and my career began," Once slated for demolition and PM Hovik Abrahamyan Leads was centered northeast of San- recalled Kiremidjian, who found replacement, alumni support led ta Cruz, resulting in dozens of that her skills often landed her to a change of plans. A seismic Delegation in Washington Visit deaths and widespread damage, among men who doubted her upgrade and other moderniza- CISTran Finance Reports grams," Badre said. and famously knocking down a abilities. tions allowed it to shrug off Loma span of the Bay Bridge. Prieta. On the last day of his working "Don't ever tell me I can't do WASHINGTON, DC - A del- Kiremedjian, who has stud- "It shows that, when you do a visit to the US, Abrahamyan met something, I'll try that much egation of Armenian officials led ied the aftermaths of dozens of well-planned retrofit, structures with the International Monetary harder," said Kiremidjian, who, by Prime Minister Hovik Abra- quakes since coming to Stanford can be made safe," Kiremedjian Fund’s (IMF) managing director, in 1972, came to study civil engi- hamyan recently traveled for a in 1972, said Northern Califor- said. Christian Lagarde. neering at Stanford after graduat- working visit to the U.S. from nians were comparatively lucky. To help assess the structural Highly praising the IMF co- ing with honors from Columbia. Oct. 10-12. Loma Prieta ruptured a 22-mile health of individual buildings, in operation in economic develop- She arrived on campus just as The officials attended World stretch of the San Andreas Fault. 1995 Kiremidjian developed the ment and institutional reforms, Haresh C. Shah, now the Obayas- Bank and International Monetary By comparison, the 1906 quake, first wireless structural monitor- the premier stressed the role of hi Professor in the School of En- Fund meetings in Washington, which had an estimated mag- ing sensors with her colleague Te- the the Fund's continuing partner- gineering, Emeritus, was devel- D.C. They also met with manage- nitude of 7.8, tore through 267 resa Meng, now the Reid Weaver ship with Armenia. “The IMF has oping a program in earthquake ment from other international fi- miles of Northern California. Dennis Professor of Electrical been and remains our key partner engineering. One of her first as- nancial institutions. "Loma Prieta was a baby earth- Engineering and professor of when it comes to macro-econ- signments involved surveying the Armenia is a reliable partner quake in comparison to 1906," computer science, emerita, and omy. Since Armenia’s gaining damage to Managua caused by of the World Bank, World Bank she said. doctoral student Erik Straser. independence, macro-economic the earthquake that devastated the Managing Director and Chief Kiremidjian should know. She The sensors can measure how a stability has been a key achieve- Nicaraguan capital in December Financial Officer Bertrand Badre is an expert at probabilistic seis- structure responds to small vibra- ment to which the IMF has had 1972. said during a meeting with Abra- mic hazard assessment, studying tions, like those caused by a big its considerable contribution,” he "It was an exciting time," re- hamyan in Washington. the nature of specific faults, as- truck rumbling down the street, as said. called Kiremedjian, who earned "We are happy to continue the sessing the likely intensity and well as a large shaking caused by The premier added that a new her doctorate in 1977. "The John partnership through the imple- duration of ground shaking dur- a strong earthquake. three-month program, approved A. Blume Earthquake Engineer- mentation of long-term pro- ing a quake and estimating the by the Fund’s board, signals a probable damage given the type, new round for Armenia’s econo- age and construction quality of Architect Mihran Mesrobian Finally Getting Recognition my in terms of bringing the coun- try closer to developing markets. local structures. By Avedis Kevorkian the Army Corps of Engineers. He only the hotel survived the Burn- Earlier this month Kiremidjian WASHINGTON- He started served in Gallipoli, then Palestine ing of the city in September 1922. Abrahamyan said that the Arme- was honored by the American So- designing landmark buildings in and Syria, and was taken prisoner As Dr. Hickman says of the nian Government is resolute on ciety of Civil Engineers for her the Old World, served in the Ot- by the Russians when serving in structures of the Constantino- continuing the reforms aimed at lifetime achievement in research toman Army in World War One, the Caucasus, and ended the war ple period: “They still may be promoting economic develop- and her commitment to educa- survived the Genocide, and came as a prisoner-of-war in Egypt. standing but we can’t document ment and raising the country’s tion, especially for her efforts to to the New World where he de- Returning to Constantinople he them…building permits at that competitiveness. signed more landmark buildings. found the growing tide of nation- time are few and far between.” inspire young women to become Considering Armenia a full- Yet, he is virtually unknown alism dangerous and emigrated However, she said that “we can fledged member and reliable part- engineers. among Armenians. to Washington in 1921, bearing a strongly attribute the small 1921 Born to an Armenian family that ner of the Fund, Lagarde prom- But, not for long. passport from the Armenian Re- apartment house on Bogazkesen ised to continue its cooperation moved to avoid persecution, Kire- Based on a highly informative public! Caddesi in Beyoglu to Mesro- with Armenia. midjian was a teenager when she illustrated talk, October 14, by art In Washington, his career blos- pian. He was the chief designer came to the United States from historian Dr. Caroline Mesrobian somed, as a result of a tie-in with 1919-21 in the office of the en- They also discussed economic Bulgaria in 1965. She steamed Hickman, excerpted from the the city’s then leading real-estate gineer Ismail Hakki Bey, whose cooperation issues. through the Bosporus Straits, ad- biography she is preparing, her developer, Harry Wardman. name is on the building.” Closing out its official visit, the miring the dome of Istanbul's Ha- grandfather Mihran Mesrobian On his 1925 application to the The list of his Washington Armenian delegation attended a gia Sophia, and stopped briefly in should soon become a household Washington DC Board of Exam- buildings designed while associ- reception hosted by the Armenian ated with Wardman, reads like a Athens to marvel at the Acropolis name. iners and Registrars of Architects, Embassy celebrating the 23rd an- Born in Afyon in Western Ana- Mesrobian summarized his Turk- name-dropper’s boast. And, fit- niversary of Armenian indepen- before her family resumed its od- tingly enough, his final project tolia in 1889, Mesrobian received ish history: “From 1909-12, I was dence. Abrahamyan also met with yssey to New York City with its was the designing of the Sanctu- his architectural training at the employed as municipal architect Armenian community members. modern high-rise structures. This Imperial Academy of Fine Arts of the City of Smyrna, where I had ary of the St. Mary’s Armenian early exposure to ancient and in Constantinople, graduating in full charge of building inspection, Church, Fessenden and 42nd Sts., We Welcome modern buildings inspired her to 1908, and began his career as a during which time I built one ho- in 1956, where the illustrated talk pursue civil engineering. municipal architect in Smyrna, tel, eight houses, one warehouse, took place. Mesrobian died in 1975. Your Comments and then became the assistant to Settling in New York City, one market containing sixty-four In many of his buildings, his About News or Articles Kiremedjian entered public high the Palace architect in Constanti- stores, one Bank and club house, proud granddaughter said he in- In The California Courier! school speaking not a word of nople. of stone and concrete construc- corporated many Old World de- Write a Letter English. But she excelled at math Even before his graduation, he tion; and made a Topographical signs and symbols.