How are engineers making bridges and buildings safer

Earthquake engineers are working to make roads and buildings safer in the event of a major earthquakes. This includes both improving the design of new buildings and bridges as well as strengthening older units to incorporate the latest advances in seismic and structural engineering.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency plays a central role in funding research and development for the purpose of mitigating the effects of earthquakes

Earthquake Mitigation
- Seismic Safety of New Buildings
- Seismic Safety of Existing Buildings

Scientists and engineers at universities around the world are studying the impact of earthquakes on the built environment, with the goal of designing safer structures. For example, engineers at the UC Berkeley Earthquake Engineering Research Center test designs on their shake table. A sampling of those organizations is given below:

Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center
Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering
Mid-America Earthquake Center
National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering
- NISEE at UC Berkeley
- NISEE at Caltech
California Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering
Blume Earthquake Engineering Center

Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, has an ambitious earthquake retroffiting program for bridges:

Caltrans Seismic Safety Retrofit Program

A number of organizations and professional societies provide other earthquake engineering resources:

"Bridging the Bay: Bridging the Campus", an interdisciplinary exhibit, provides a historical perspective on Bay Area bridges.

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Berkeley Seismological Lab
215 McCone Hall, UC Berkeley
Berkeley CA 94720-4760
www@seismo.berkeley.edu