Past News Stories: 2005
7.6 Magnitude
Quake Strikes Pakistan October 8, 2005
According to USGS, the earthquake
killed at least 79,000 people, injured 65,000 and destroyed or badly damaged
many towns and villages in northern Pakistan. In India, at least 1,360 people
were killed and 4,300 injured; four people were killed in Afghanistan. An estimated
4 million people in the area have been left homeless. Landslides have damaged
roads and bridges, blocking access to many of the worst-hit areas. MCEER
Literature Searches have been prepared, and general information is available
from the USGS (external link) and EQNET (external link) websites.
Accelerated
Bridge Construction Seminar
On September 16, 2005, MCEER hosted a professional development seminar on Accelerated
Bridge Construction. The seminar was held at the Center for Tomorrow
on the University of Buffalo’s north campus and shown live via webcast.
Speakers included Lloyd Wolf, Texas DOT;
Harry Capers, New Jersey DOT; and Bill Halsband, Mammoet.
Two New
Industry-based Research Consortia Announced
MCEER is pleased to announce the
formation of two new industry-based research consortiums. The
Electrical Utility Consortium (EUC) was created to respond to the needs
of electrical utilities and focuses specifically on the seismic behavior of
electrical substation equipment. The
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE),
through its Technical Committee 2.7, formed a consortium with MCEER's researchers
and industry partners to examine the performance of seismic restraints and
isolation devices for large institutional equipment, such as HVAC systems.
ImageCat
Wins Contest
The MCEER team at ImageCat, Inc. placed first in the 2005 Geospatial Solutions
Applications Contest for their use of the VIEWS system following Hurricane
Charley. The contest honors those who have used geospatial technologies in
innovative and creative ways. The Geospatial
Solutions website (external link) has a description of the winning project.
2005 REU
Program Ends with Reno Symposium
Reno, Nevada was the site of this
year’s NSF
Tri-Center Symposium for Young Researchers. MCEER's contingent of nine
students joined another 13 undergraduates from MAE and PEER to present the
results of their summer research projects and participate in events, including
tours of UNR facilities and a field trip to the Mackay School of Earth Sciences
and Engineering, which recently underwent a major seismic retrofit.
Tri-Center Field Mission Takes Students to Greece
Thirteen Ph.D. students
from the three earthquake centers visited
Greece
as part of the Tri-Center Field Mission.
Held July 5-13 and sponsored by NSF, this year’s trip highlighted the contrast
between ancient and modern technologies. Participants toured earthquake resistant
structures ranging in age from 1 year to over 3000 years, primarily in the cities
of
Athens
and Patras.
Quake Triggers Tsunami Warning in US
On
June 15, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the Northern California coast triggered
tsunami warnings along the entire west coast of the US. No tsunami occurred
and no casualties were reported. The photo (Katie Klingsporn/The Crescent City
Triplicate) shows California evacuees watching for signs of a tsunami.
People in the News
People in the News include George
Lee, who received an award from the University at Buffalo for his
outstanding contributions to international education, and Hector
Velasco, MCEER's Graphic Media Specialist and Scientific Illustrator,
who was honored for 30 years of service at the University at Buffalo on May
24, 2005. Hector (C) is pictured with UB President John B. Simpson
(L) and Provost Satish K. Tripathi (R).
MCEER Welcomes Students to REU Program 2005
MCEER
has awarded a total of 6 regular REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates)
Awards and 3 Diversity REU Awards this year to facilitate undergraduate student
participation in earthquake engineering research. These students started their
program on June 1, 2005. These nine students will present the results of their
research activities at the Tri-Center REU 2005 Symposium in Reno, Nevada, scheduled
for August 11-13. More...
2005 MCEER Annual Meeting
MCEER's 2005 Annual Meeting was
held February
25-26, 2005 in Sacramento, California. This traditional gathering
of MCEER industry partners, students and researchers reviewed the past year's
progress and the next year's promise, and featured a “Practitioners
Day” that invited participation from the practicing community
and public service officials. A review
of the meeting, along with MCEER
presentations, student posters and
a photo gallery can now be viewed
online. More presentations will be available soon, so please visit again
soon.
MCEER
Joins Multi-lateral Reconnaissance Team
to Investigate the Effects of the Tsunami/Earthquake Disaster in South
Asia
Ranked as one of
the most catastrophic events in recent times, the Indonesian earthquake
and subsequent tsunami has caused significant damage in 11 countries and
resulted in over 150,000 casualties. MCEER joined a Thailand-Japanese team
of engineers who visited hard hit areas in Thailand in January 2005 to
investigate data collection and research opportunities related to remote
sensing. More...
2005
Hurricane Katrina Seminar
Examining Extreme Events:
Hurricane Katrina's Impact on Critical Infrastructure, Societal Systems, Public Health and Environment
A First-hand View from Satellite and Field Investigations
November 2, 2005
Seminar Series Events
Accelerated Bridge Construction
Professional Development Seminar: Accelerated Bridge Construction
September 16, 2005
