Three Experts Named to Earthquake Advisory Board

Three earthquake authorities from academia and the private sector have been appointed by Patrick Gallagher, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to serve on the Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR) of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).

Established by the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, NEHRP is the federal government’s program to reduce the risks to life and property from earthquakes. NEHRP consists of four federal agencies: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and NIST, which serves as lead agency.

The new ACEHR members, whose terms extend to July 31, 2015, are Craig Davis, geotechnical engineering manager, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles, Calif.; Robert Herrmann, Paul C. Reinert Chair of Natural Sciences, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Mo.; and Mary Lou Zoback, seismologist and consulting professor, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. They join a group of nine previously appointed academic, industry and government experts on the ACEHR.

The committee’s responsibilities include assessing:

• Trends and developments in the science and engineering of earthquake hazards reduction
• The effectiveness of NEHRP in performing its statutory activities (fostering improved design and construction methods and practices; land use controls and redevelopment; prediction techniques and early-warning systems; coordinated emergency preparedness plans; and public education and involvement programs)
• Any need to revise NEHRP
• The management, coordination, implementation, and activities of NEHRP.

Largest Shake Table Test Research Awarded Raymond C. Reese Prize

In 2009, SimpsonStrong-Tie collaborated with academia on the NEESWood Capstone project in Japan, the world’s largest earthquake shake table test. A research article based on that test was awarded the 2011 Raymond C. Reese Research Prize by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

The research paper, “Experimental Seismic Response of a Full-Scale Six-Story Light-Frame Wood Building,” co-authored by John W. van de Lindt, M.ASCE, Shiling Pei, M.ASCE, Steven E. Pryor, M.ASCE, Simpson Strong-Tie, H. Shimizu and H. Isoda, describes testing and results from the NEESWood Capstone project.

The Raymond C. Reese Research Prize is awarded annually to a notable achievement in research related to structural engineering, with special consideration for how the research can be used. The award was presented at SEI and ASCE’s 2012 Structures Congress in Chicago on March 29-31.

The NEESWood Capstone project was developed to test new design methods for multistory, wood-frame buildings during large seismic events, and featured a seven-story, 40- by 60-foot condominium tower with 23 one- and two-bedroom living units and two retail shops on the ground level. The condo building was subjected to and withstood several earthquakes created by Japan's E-Defense shake table. The test was also intended to provide a landmark data set to the seismic engineering research community.

"The testing done in Japan shows that performance-based design for light-frame wood structures works. This will allow the engineering and building community to provide safer, better performing buildings in the most cost-effective manner,” says Simpson Strong-Tie International Director of Building Systems Steve Pryor, who co-authored the paper.