University at Buffalo Earthquake Student

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UB-E
University at Buffalo - Earthquake
Student Established
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ERI
Engineering Research Institute Chapter December
97
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Current Officers
President Ani Natali Sigaher Vice
President(s) Diego Lopez Garcia
Mettupalayam Sivaselvan Treasurer Dyah
Kusumastuti Secretary Oscar M. Ramirez
Faculty Advisors
Dr. Andrei M. Reinhorn (98 -99), Dr. John B.
Mander (99 -00)
Contact Member
Serafim Arzoumanidis (Technical Director,
Steinman, NY)
Current Members
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.
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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.
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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 .
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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.
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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.
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Seminar by Dr. Michel Bruneau - MCEER Deputy
Director and Professor (October 15,1999) A Brief
Overview of MCEERs Strategic Plan - MCEERs
research agenda of NSF and FHWA funded research,
insight into MCEER strategic plan and future
projects.
Movie presentation Earthquake (October 27,
1999) The 1970s disaster movie Earthquake
featuring Charles Heston and Eva Gardner was
shown as part of the chapters 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.
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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 Japans
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
Seminar Parkfield Pipeline Project -
experimental project being carried out in
Parkfield, CA, to capture the behavior of buried
pipelines during a major seismic event.
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Tour of the Structural Engineering and Earthquake
Simulation Laboratory (SEESL) - Guided lab tour,
information about various experimental projects.
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Future Activities

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