News

The Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance (StEER) Network has issued an Event Briefing for the Mw 6.2 Petrolia Earthquake that occurred on 20 December, 2021. This Event Briefing is an abbreviated StEER response mechanism that briefly summarizes the event and any key lessons that can be learn

The American Society of Civil Engineers has awarded its 2022 H. Bolton Seed Medal to Jonathan D. Bray, Professor and Faculty Chair in Earthquake Engineering Excellence in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the College of Engineering at University of California, Berkeley. The H. Bolton Seed Medal recognizes outstanding contributions to teaching, research, and/or practice in geotechnical engineering.

Results of the 2021 Thick Foundation Element Blind Prediction Contest have been determined. This contest opened in September 2021 and the objective was to predict the strength of a reinforced concrete deep beam intended to represent a slice through a thick foundation mat.

PEER has two continuing funding sources: Transportation Systems Research Program (TSRP) from the State of California, and PEER-Bridge Research program from California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

The PEER Student Committee is pleased to present our next spotlighted researcher in the "Meet the PEER Students'' Series. The series features students and postdoctoral researchers who conduct exciting research projects, engage in leadership activities, and perform exceptional work. This month, we met James Gordon, a graduate student at Oregon State University.

Results of the 2021 Reinforced Concrete Column Blind Prediction Contest have been determined. This contest opened in July 2021 and the objective was to predict the response of a reinforced concrete column subjected to lateral deformation.

Claire M. Johnson, PEER Reports editor, will be retiring on December 31, 2021. She has been with UC Berkeley for over thirty years. As a UC Berkeley undergraduate, she typed for Mrs. Ruth Burdy when the Civil Engineering department was chaired by Professor Carl Monismith. She worked for Professor Brady Williamson in the Fire Lab.

The PEER Student Committee is pleased to present our next spotlighted researcher in the "Meet the PEER Students'' Series. The series features students and postdoctoral researchers who conduct exciting research projects, engage in leadership activities, and perform exceptional work. This month, we met Dr. Danilo Kusanovic, a postdoctoral researcher at the California Institute of Technology.

The impact of a PEER funded research project  "Calibration and Verification of OpenSees Models for Simulating the Response through Collapse of Nonplanar RC Walls" is highlighted below. The project Principal Investigator (PI) is Laura N. Lowes, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle. The Research Team includes Joshua Stokley, Graduate Student Researcher, University of Washington, Seattle.

The PEER-Bridge Research Program is announcing a Request For Proposals, 21-03 and 21-04, for two topics: RFP 21-03 is with the objective of evaluating hazard levels for temporary bridges, and RFP 21-04 is for developing design guidelines to determine whether a bridge should be designed to a recovery bridge standard.

PEER has just published Report No. 2021/08 "Seismic Design and Detailing of Bridge Columns to Account for Ground-Motion Duration." It was authored by S. Mojtaba Alian Amiri, Mohamed A. Moustafa and David H. Sanders, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno.

PDF available at: PEER Report 2021/08 or click here for full list: PEER Reports 

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The PEER Student Committee is pleased to present our next spotlighted researcher in the "Meet the PEER Students'' Series. The series features students and postdoctoral researchers who conduct exciting research projects, engage in leadership activities, and perform exceptional work. This month, we met Dr. Jin Zhou, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis.