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MCEER SLC Members Reach Out to Community

On June 17, 2005, members of the State University of New York Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (SUNY LSAMP) Program visited the Department of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering at UB for a guided tour of the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory and a presentation given by SLC Chair, Michael Pollino. The SUNY LSAMP students consisted of undergraduate engineering majors from SUNY schools across the state. Following the tour, a presentation entitled “Engineering Graduate School and MCEER Research” was given by Michael Pollino. An open discussion was then held with the students to answer questions regarding applying to graduate school, academic coursework, research, etc. More information, including the presentation, can be found on the SLC website at http://www.mceer.buffalo.edu/slc.

Submitted by Michael Pollino, University at Buffalo

• Jeff Berman discussed earthquakes and tsunamis with a class of fifth grade students.

On February 14, 2005, former SLC Chair Jeff Berman visited Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School in Orchard Park, New York to give a presentation on tsunamis and earthquakes to the fifth grade classes. Jeff briefly introduced fault geology and how earthquakes cause tsunamis. This led into a discussion on earthquakes that included videos of structural testing from the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory at UB. Jeff finished his presentation by explaining MCEER and other research institutions are working to decrease society’s vulnerability to tsunamis and earthquakes. He then answered many very good questions which displayed the students’ interest and excitement for the subject.

Submitted by Jeff Berman, University at Buffalo