Education Program
"My PEER research gave me the opportunity to collaborate closely with many faculty, graduate students, and engineering practitioners throughout California and the Western United States. These collaborative research experiences, and the relationships developed through this, have been an invaluable asset while starting my academic career."
Curt B. Haselton, PhD, PE
Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering
California State University, Chico
"As a student, PEER instilled in me the value of an inter-disciplinary and collaborative research environment. From the beginning, I was able to cultivate relationships with both students and faculty across various universities and specialties, which strengthened my foundation for future research."
Dr. Kevin R. Mackie, PhD, Assistant Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Central Florida
"I am where I am today because of PEER and all the experience and contacts it has given me. There are many young faculty members who owe PEER considerable gratitude. This collection of PEER graduates, I think, is one of the greatest legacies of the PEER Center."
Ken Ellwood
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering
University of British Columbia
April 1 Deadline Fast Approaching for PEER and REU Summer Internships
The Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) Education Program is pleased to offer exciting opportunities for undergraduate students to explore new directions in earthquake engineering studies through the PEER Summer Internship Program and the National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Summer Internship Program.
The internship programs are targeted to upper-division students who have completed junior-level courses in engineering or a related field. PEER will consider applicants from other grade levels. The programs are intended to provide research opportunities for undergraduates who have shown an interest in earthquake engineering, demonstrated a high level of academic performance (generally GPA = 3.0 above), and whose presence would enhance the diversity of PEER. Although PEER seeks racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, California law prohibits preferential treatment of individuals or groups on the basis of race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin. Consequently, selection of award recipients is not based on these criteria.
Interns will spend ten weeks (400 hours) at a PEER core university working directly with a faculty mentor on a PEER-funded research project directly related to the PEER mission of Performance- Based Earthquake Engineering. Each program runs from May 15 to September 15, with individual schedules to be arranged between interns and their mentors. Interns will receive a stipend of $6,000, which is intended to cover travel to/from the host university, and living expenses.
Students will compile technical and anecdotal information throughout the summer and submit a final report by October 1. Students will also present their summer research results by PowerPoint presentation or poster at an undergraduate research symposium.
Complete descriptions, eligibility requirements and application instructions for each program can be found on the PEER website, at http://peer.berkeley.edu/. The application deadline is April 1. However, applications will be reviewed as received and will continue on a rolling basis until all internships are awarded. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early.
For questions, please contact:
Linda Nelson
PEER Education Program Manager
Department of Structural Engineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093-0085
(858) 822-1344 Phone
(858) 822-2260 Fax
lnelson@ucsd.edu
Oregon State University Wins 2007 Seismic Design Competition
Of the 14 competing student teams, Oregon State University took first place in the 4th Annual Seismic Design Competition for Undergraduates, jointly sponsored by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER), Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Mid-America Earthquake (MAE) Center and MCEER. The event, held during the EERI Annual Meeting, February 7-10, in Los Angeles, was an opportunity to demonstrate performance-based, cost-effective seismic design. Read more.
- 1st Place: Oregon State University
- Jeremy Mikkelsen, Joseph Henry, Sarah Martin, Beth McNair and Robert "Josh" Lehn
The Education Program is designed to introduce, stimulate, cultivate and educate undergraduate and graduate students with the knowledge that will enable them to contribute to the earthquake-engineering profession from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. The Program attracts students dedicated to earthquake engineering early in their academic career and, ideally, retains them through their course of graduate study. While the principal audience and focus of the Education Program is undergraduate and graduate students, K-12 students benefit indirectly from some of the Education Program's activity. PEER's Education Committee, comprising representatives from PEER’s core and affiliated universities, is charged with the planning and implementation of the Education Program.
PEER Student Leadership Council (SLC) and PEER Student Association (PSA) web site.