The three EERCs (Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake
Engineering Research, EEC 9701471; Mid-America Earthquake
Center, EEC-9701785; Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research
Center, EEC-9701568) collaborate on education modules
for both undergraduate and graduate education. At the
undergraduate level, the three EERCs created a multi-center
task force under the leadership of MAE Center investigator,
Dr. Shirley Dyke, Washington University, to develop performance
specifications for an instructional shake table for class
room use and small-scale models for student research
projects. The NSF Division of Undergraduate Education
subsequently funded a project that links about 20 universities
and funds them to acquire these small shake tables and
develop instructional modules. The MAE and PEER Centers
sponsored a joint REU symposium in August 1999 and plan
to hold a similar symposium in August 2000. The three
EERCs are also collaborating to develop teaching modules
for graduate education that will be available on the
WWW. For example, the MAE Center is developing modules
on soil liquefaction and social science issues in earthquake
engineering, MCEER is developing virtual laboratory experiments
for structural control and base isolation, and the PEER
Center is developing modules on base isolation, fluid-structure
interaction, wave propagation, and earthquake engineering
design. |