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Chris Poland

Chris Poland's 30-year career as a structural engineer is marked by his commitment to excellence, innovation, and public service. Dedicated to building safe, livable and healthy communities, Chris takes an active role in advancing the practice of structural engineering and public policy as it pertains to earthquake safety and disaster mitigation. As President and CEO of Degenkolb Engineers since 1990, Chris leads a firm of engineers devoted to the art of structural engineering and the discipline of superior client service.

As an internationally recognized authority on earthquake engineering, Chris routinely participates in policy-changing research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Service, the National Institute of Standards/Technology (NIST), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the National Research Council of the National Academy of Engineering. His research has contributed to the development of federal standards for seismic evaluations and mitigation (an NIST study) and numerous guidelines related to earthquake hazard reduction activities such as the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Series Program (NEHRP) Handbooks for the seismic evaluation of existing buildings (FEMA 178, etc.).

Chris remains passionate about the science of engineering and has years of field experience evaluating and designing efficient and adaptable structural systems for buildings of every description from hospitals and historic buildings to university facilities. He often assists clients in developing earthquake hazard reduction programs to determine their individual level of acceptable risk in the key areas of life-safety, continued operations, and the value of buildings and their contents. He also frequently assists clients in developing emergency response plans.

Chris is the immediate past President of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), where he also served as Director/Secretary-Treasurer for 6 years. On behalf of EERI, he has twice testified before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Science, Space, and Technology on the Reauthorization of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act. He is currently Chair of the NRC Committee on the Economic Benefits of Improved Seismic Monitoring. As part of the National Academies, this committee is researching and advocating the value of seismic monitoring in advancing our ability to understand earthquakes and mitigate their disastrous consequences.

Chris also served as the Chairman of the Vision 2000 Codes Committee of the Structural Engineers Association of California. Under his leadership, a 500-page document entitled Performance Based Seismic Engineering of Buildings: Interim Recommendations was published in 1995. The work, sponsored by FEMA and the California Office of Emergency Services, defines the conceptual framework for future seismic codes that will permit performance-based engineering. This work is currently referenced worldwide.

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