UB Scientists to Discuss Urban Earthquake Risks

BOSTON -- More than 800 of the world's leading earthquake specialists, including scientists from the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) headquartered at the University at Buffalo, will discuss urban earthquake risks at the Seventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering.

To be held July 22-25 at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, the conference will assess risks and readiness associated with occurrence of a moderate or major earthquake in Boston and other U.S. cities. Conference organizers are the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), the Boston Society of Civil Engineers/ASCE and MCEER.

"A recent FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) study put Boston and New York City among the top 40 high-loss-potential urban areas for earthquakes," notes George Lee, MCEER director and Samuel P. Capen Professor of Engineering in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. "This conference will examine how 25 years of earthquake research can be used to mitigate and manage future earthquakes and man-made disasters in urban settings."

The World Trade Center disaster also will be discussed at the conference. Andrei Reinhorn, UB professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering, will lead a discussion on the design of terrorist-resistant structures and improvement of emergency response to complex disasters. Session participants will include Ronald O. Hamburger of the FEMA/ASCE WTC Investigation Team, and Kathleen Tierney, director, University of Delaware Disaster Research Center.

Other conference highlights will include sessions on the seismic evaluation of U.S. bridges, multi-hazard considerations for buildings, legal aspects following a building's collapse and insurance-industry response to earthquakes.

A full conference program can be viewed at www.eeri.org