University at Buffalo - Earthquake Student

Established:

UB-E

Engineering Research InstituteChapterDecember ‘97

ERI

Current OfficersPresident : Ani Natali SigaherVice President(s) : Diego Lopez Garcia

Mettupalayam SivaselvanTreasurer : Dyah KusumastutiSecretary : Oscar M. Ramirez

Current Members

Faculty AdvisorsDr. Andrei M. Reinhorn (‘98 -’99), Dr. John B. Mander (‘99 -’00)

Contact MemberSerafim Arzoumanidis (Technical Director, Steinman, NY)

Jack Ajrab, Thomas A. Boyle, Jia-Dzwan (Jerry) Shen, Shih-Yu Chu, Quan Gan, Diego Lopez Garcia, Juan David Gomez, Ping Gu, Benedikt Halldorsson, Yasuo Kitane, Dyah Kusumastuti, Kangmin Lee, Wei Liu, Wen-Chin Liu, George Mavroeidis, Oscar M. Ramirez, Ayman A. Shama, Ani N. Sigaher, Mettupalayam Sivaselvan, Darren Vian.

Chapter Activities (January 1999 - present)

Visit by Dr. Farzad Naeim (May 3 - 5, 1999)Dr. Farzad Naeim (Director of Research and Development John Martin & Associates, Inc. California) visited UB between May 3 - 5, 1999, as part of the Visiting Professional Program sponsored by EERI.

Seminar “A Close Encounter with three Challenging Projects: Disney Concert Hall, UCLA Knudsen Hall and Eiffel Tower II” - seismic design aspects of the first two projects and general structural design of the latter.

Poster Competition - organized by the Dept. of Civil, Structural and Environmental Eng. & UB-EERI. A total of 9 entries.

Tour of the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL) - Information about various experiments.

Visit of Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) Information Service - new web projects such as “E-News” - an awareness service sent via e-mail .

Seminar by Dr. George C. Lee - MCEER Director and Professor (June 11,1999) “A Description of the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) ” - history and current projects of the Center, also possible future activities involving the UB-EERI Student Chapter, for which the students are asked to contribute in formulating an action plan.

Poster Presentation during National Science Foundation (NSF) Annual Site Visit to MCEER (July 28, 1999)A group of UB-EERI Student Chapter members presented posters related to their research. Great opportunity to meet students from other EERI Student Chapters.

Seminar by Dr. Michel Bruneau - MCEER Deputy Director and Professor (October 15,1999)“A Brief Overview of MCEER’s Strategic Plan” - MCEER’s research agenda of NSF and FHWA funded research, insight into MCEER strategic plan and future projects.

Movie presentation “Earthquake” (October 27, 1999)The 1970’s disaster movie “Earthquake” featuring Charles Heston and Eva Gardner was shown as part of the chapter’s audiovisual activities.

Documentary presentation “Armenia Earthquake of December 1998” (December 1, 1999)First of the three videotapes donated by EERI. Slides and live footage by members of the U.S. Investigation Team. Covers seismology, geotechnical issues, lifelines, structural performance, search and rescue, and policy issues.

Documentary presentation “Northridge Earthquake of January 17, 1994” (January 28, 2000)Another videotape donated by EERI. Slides and live footage presented by the EERI reconnaissance team. Information on strong motion records, geotechnical and architectural aspects, structural and nonstructural damage, lifeline systems, transportation, social impacts, and emergency response.

Documentary presentation “Kobe Earthquake of January 17, 1995” (March 3, 2000)Last of the three videotapes donated by EERI. Slides by the visiting team, live footage courtesy of Japan’s TV network. Covers seismology and ground motions, observations on structural failure of buildings, highways and bridges; damage to ports and harbors; performance of lifeline systems and transportation; fires; emergency response and societal impacts.

Seminar by Dr. Akira Wada - Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology (October 15,1999)“Passive Energy Dissipation Technology in Japan after Kobe Earthquake” - a joint activity by the Dept. of Civil, Structural and Environmental Eng. & UB-EERI. Studies on passive energy dissipation systems in Japan after Kobe Earthquake.

Visit by Dr. Jeremy Isenberg (March 28 - 29, 2000)Dr. Jeremy Isenberg (President and CEO of Weidlinger Associates, Inc.) visited UB between March 28 - 29, 2000, as part of the Visiting Professional Program sponsored by EERI.

Seminar “Learning from Earthquakes – Major Lessons for US Bridges” - damage and damage modes suffered by various bridges during the 1971 San Fernando, 1989 Whittier Narrows, 1989 Loma Prieta, 1994 Northridge and 1995 Kobe earthquakes.

Seminar “New York City Bridges: Seismic Role in Rehabilitation” - seismic retrofit of major long span bridges in New York City as part of a bridge inspection and rehabilitation program mandated by the Congress and administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) through local bridge authorities.

Seminar “Parkfield Pipeline Project” - experimental project being carried out in Parkfield, CA, to capture the behavior of buried pipelines during a major seismic event.

Visit of MCEER Information Service - current Information Service projects such as “E-News”; web guides such as “Guide to International Seismic Codes” and “Project Impact Guide”.

Tour of the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL) - Guided lab tour, information about various experimental projects.

Future Activities

• UB-EERI web page• Inviting a Visiting Professional• Joint Activities with MCEER Student Leadership Council (SLC)• Field trips• Enlarging chapter’s audiovisual library