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A Selection of Papers Chronicling Technical Achievements of the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research
Foreword
Contents
Please note: the papers below are available in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format only. To view them, you'll need the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't already have a copy of the reader you can get it here.
Foreword
by George C. Lee, Director,
Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering ResearchThe vision of the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) is to help foster activities that will lead to more earthquake resilient communities. Its mission is to discover, nurture, develop, promote, help implement, and in some instances pilot test, innovative measures and advanced and emerging technologies to reduce losses in future earthquakes in a cost-effective manner. Research findings show that relatively new buildings and infrastructure that are designed and constructed to the current state-of-practice in earthquake engineering perform significantly better than older ones during earthquakes, and that the largest threat to society lies in the seismically vulnerable infrastructure designed and constructed at a time when earthquake-resistant design had not yet matured.
With that knowledge in mind, it is MCEER's view that the best way of achieving the stated vision of earthquake resilient communities in the short term is to invest in two focused system-integrated endeavors: the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure facilities that society will need and expect to be operational following an earthquake, more specifically hospitals and lifelines; and the improvement of emergency response and crisis management capabilities to ensure efficient response and appropriate recovery strategies following earthquakes.
MCEER works with the entire earthquake loss reduction community, which consists of practicing engineers and other design professionals, policy makers, regulators and code officials, facility and building owners, governmental entities, and other stakeholders who have responsibility for loss reduction decision making, to ensure that research results are implemented to improve safety and advance earthquake loss reduction for government, private industry, and the public-at-large.
The flowchart above schematically shows how the Center's research interests contribute collectively to achieve the vision of more earthquake resilient communities. The papers in this volume highlight efforts in intelligent response and recovery, hospitals, water and gas pipelines, electric power networks, and bridges and highways. These studies involve many different disciplines, whose work will cohesively join together toward successful implementation of design and retrofit techniques to protect urban infrastructures from earthquake damage.
This report is the third in our annual compilation of research progress and accomplishments.
If you would like more information on any of the studies presented herein, or on other MCEER research or educational activities, you are encouraged to contact us by telephone at (716) 645-3391, facsimile (716) 645-3399, or email at mceer@buffalo.edu.
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