July 30, 2013
NEES annual meeting: Quake Summit 2013 to highlight efforts of researchers, educators focused on earthquakes, tsunamis
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NEES at University of Nevada's shake table laboratory accommodates large-scale structures such as this 2/5-scale model of a three-span bridge. The bridge rests on four shake tables configured to test the seismic resiliency of curved, multi-span bridges. Based at Purdue's Discovery Park, NEES is a collaborative, 14-site research initiative that aims to improve structural seismic design and reduce the damaging effects of earthquakes and tsunamis. (Purdue University/NEES photo). |
RENO, Nev. - Members of a national earthquake simulation research network next week will gather at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), for Quake Summit 2013, a scientific meeting highlighting research on mitigating the impact of devastating earthquakes and tsunamis.
Titled "Earthquake & Multi-Hazards Resilience: Progress and Challenges," the annual summit of the 14-site George E. Brown Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), will run from Aug. 6-8 at UNR's Joseph Crowley Student Center.
"Geared toward earthquake engineers, hazards researchers and students and educators in these areas, Quake Summit 2013 features nearly 100 presentations on the latest research in earthquake engineering and multi-hazards resilience, much of it cutting-edge technique for engineers and scientists," said Julio Ramirez, NEES' chief officer and a civil engineering professor at Purdue.
Quake Summit 2013 will feature plenary and concurrent technical sessions, as well as a research poster reception. Alongside research engineers, students in NEES's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program also will display their projects.
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The event is expected to attract more than 300 experts and students from throughout the U.S. and abroad. It also will feature the new Earthquake Engineering laboratory at UNR, home of the NEES@UNR shared-use laboratory with multiple shake tables that can be used separately or in combination for research on long, spatially distributed structural and geotechnical systems.
For a detailed program of the speakers and their presentations, visit http://www.quakesummit.org.
In conjunction with the conference, the Journal of Structural Engineering of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has published special editions for July and August that focus on earthquake-related research conducted in NEES.
Special editors for the research publications are John W. van de Lindt, George T. Abell Professor in Infrastructure at Colorado State University; Jeffrey Berman, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington; and P. Benson Shing, professor of structural engineering at the University of California, San Diego.
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Julio Ramirez |
"It was clear that there were an obvious number of projects that could be written up on the latest efforts in earthquake-related research," said van de Lindt, "all high quality and all providing results that move the profession further toward designing resilient buildings, bridges and other structures."
Added Berman, who is presenting at the summit: "Many of the research projects that have papers in the NEES special issues of the Journal of Structural Engineering also are being presented at the 2013 Quake Summit. This interaction between the two venues provides opportunities for the research to reach additional audiences and broaden its impact."
Since Oct. 1, 2009, the NEES operations and cyberinfrastructure headquarters has been located at Purdue's Discovery Park, the result of National Science Foundation cooperative agreement #CMMI-0927178. NEEScomm is the operations unit at Purdue.
Writer: Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu
Sources: Julio Ramirez, 765-494-2716, ramirez@purdue.edu
Jeff Berman, 206-616-3530, jwberman@uw.edu
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