NSF PR 97-59 - October 7, 1997
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NSF Funds Earthquake Research Centers in Calfornia,
Illinois and New York
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has named three
centers to conduct and coordinate earthquake engineering
research for the nation. They will be located at the
Universities of Illinois and California and the State
University of New York in Buffalo.
"These new centers are needed to extend our understanding
of the impacts of seismic events on buildings, roads,
bridges, energy sources and other components of our
built environment and societal institutions," says
William A. Anderson, director of NSF's earthquake
mitigation program.
"The 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge earthquakes
in the U.S. and the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake
in Kobe, Japan, were grim reminders of the continuing
vulnerability of many parts of the world to strong
earthquakes," Anderson says. "The knowledge gained
through these research centers and shared with engineers,
architects and planners will help reduce earthquake
hazards and save lives."
The new contracts call for NSF to invest $2 million
a year for five years to each of the three centers:
the University of California (UC) at Berkeley's Pacific
Earthquake Engineering Research Center; the University
of Illinois Mid-America Earthquake Center at the Urbana-Champaign
campus; and the State University of New York at Buffalo's
(UB) Center for Advanced Technologies in Earthquake
Loss-Reduction.
The centers are expected to match the federal funds,
dollar-for-dollar, with funds from non-federal sources,
and to develop significant cooperation and interactions
with industry and government organizations that are
key stakeholders in reducing earthquake hazards.
Each of the centers will form a consortium of public
and private institutions committed to integrated research
and education activities. The centers will use a team
approach to draw on experts in a range of fields including
engineering, geology, geophysics and the social sciences.
NSF selected the centers for their individual and
complementary strengths. The California research center,
directed by civil engineer Jack P. Moehle, will develop
technologies to reduce urban earthquake losses. The
Illinois center, led by civil engineer Daniel P. Abrams,
will emphasize reducing potential earthquake losses
in the central and eastern U.S. by concentrating on
problems associated with low-frequency seismic events.
The New York center, led by civil engineer George
C. Lee, will focus on the application of advanced
and emerging technologies to reduce earthquake losses.
Improved performance loss assessment of buildings
and civil infrastructure will be explored, as will
rehabilitation of critical facilities, and emergency
response and recovery.
In 1986, NSF awarded UB a five-year grant to establish
the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research
(NCEER), following a national competition. In 1991
NSF renewed that grant and awarded another five-year
grant to establish the Southern California Earthquake
Center at the University of Southern California. With
its new 1997 grants, NSF seeks the most comprehensive
knowledge attainable about earthquake mitigation.
Attachment:
- List of Consortia Members
- Joint Statement by University
Chancellors
Editors: For more information on the three
NSF-funded Earthquake Engineering Research Centers,
contact the following public affairs officers:
Jesus Mena, UC Berkeley: (510) 642-0319/jmj@pio.urel.berkeley.edu
James Kloeppel, University of Illinois: (217) 244-1073/kloeppel@uiuc.edu
Donald Goralski, UB: (716) 645-3391/goralski@acsu.buffalo.edu
Attachment
NSF Earthquake Engineering Research Centers
Consortia Members
The Center for Advanced Technologies in Earthquake
Loss Reduction, proposed by the National Center for
Earthquake Engineering Research and based at the State
University of New York at Buffalo (UB), comprises
nine core institutions: UB; Cornell University; EQE
Center for Advanced Planning and Research (Irvine,
Calif.); Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; the Disaster
Research Center at the University of Delaware; University
of Nevada at Reno; University of Southern California;
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University;
and Wharton Risk and Decision Process Center at the
University of Pennsylvania.
The Mid-America Earthquake Center consortium based
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
includes seven universities: University of Illinois;
Georgia Institute of Technology; Massachusetts Institute
of Technology; Saint Louis University; Texas A&M University;
University of Memphis; Washington University.
The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center
based at the University of California (UC) at Berkeley,
comprises nine core universities: Caltech, Stanford,
UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles,
UC San Diego, University of Southern California, and
University of Washington. Affiliated institutions
in seven western states will augment efforts.
Attachment
Joint Statement
Michael Aiken, Chancellor, University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign
Robert Berdahl, Chancellor, University of California,
Berkeley
William R. Greiner, President, State University of
New York, Buffalo
The National Science Foundation's decision to extend
and expand its support of earthquake engineering research
will bolster the ongoing scientific efforts at Berkeley,
Buffalo and Urbana-Champaign to mitigate the potentially
devastating effects of earthquakes around the world.
Through its commitment of $30 million over the next
five years to fund basic research and public outreach
at the three universities NSF assures that we will
be able to build on the progress already made by our
institutions, and other institutions with which we
work as a consortium. These funds will substantially
enhance our abilities to develop effective strategies
for further reducing the loss of life and major physical
devastation from future seismic shocks.
While earthquakes cannot be prevented, researchers
at our institutions have shown already that we can
build structures that will withstand quakes of high
magnitudes; we can retrofit existing buildings, bridges
and highways to minimize their vulnerability to quakes;
and we can improve the design and construction of
the vital linkages on which our commerce and life-support
systems depend.
There is much yet to be accomplished in this field
of scientific inquiry. Berkeley, Buffalo and Illinois
are prepared to provide the research leadership that
will ultimately benefit people throughout the globe
and place the United States at the forefront of scientific
progress in earthquake hazard mitigation. NSF's investment
will be returned many-fold through the prevention
of earthquake damage that can easily climb into the
billions of dollars and the loss of life that never
can be measured in financial terms.
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