CMS 0001718 PI: Susan K. Tubbesing Institution: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) "Learning From Earthquakes"
For nearly 30 years, support for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute's (EERI) Learning from Earthquakes (LFE) program, has been provided by NSF. These funds enable multidisciplinary research teams to carry out field investigations of significant earthquakes throughout the world, and to observe and document effects on the natural and built environment and resulting social, economic and policy impacts. The LFE program will continue to generate new knowledge, leading to changes in practice and stimulating new research in earthquake engineering and related fields.
Recent earthquakes have raised concern about the need to improve the coordination of field reconnaissance to reduce duplication of effort, and the need to make better use of new technologies to reduce gaps in damage data collection and analysis, and improve availability and dissemination of information. As the leading organization in post-earthquake investigations, EERI has revised the LFE program to include a much-expanded role in improving the overall coordination of post-earthquake NSF-funded research efforts. EERI will convene an invitational workshop to establish a cooperative protocol to maximize the resources and capabilities of the involved organizations and ensure a more efficient and effective research response to future earthquakes in the U.S. and abroad. EERI will procure necessary equipment, including hand-held GPS units, microtremor devices, and other equipment as may be suggested in the workshop to enhance data collection and dissemination effort. EERI will continue to serve as the U.S. coordinator for earthquake investigations, hold briefings, prepare comprehensive reconnaissance reports, and broadly distribute findings via various media. EERI will create a new program to carry out immediate post-earthquake data gathering and provide training for team members - developing a program to advance the science and practice of earthquake engineering and, in so doing, helping to reduce future earthquake losses.
