This award provides renewed funding for the National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering (NISEE) which was established to facilitate the collection, organization, and dissemination of information related to earthquake engineering to various user groups including researchers, practicing engineers, educators, public officials, and the general public. To achieve its goal, NISEE maintains a comprehensive, specialized resource data base which is used by public and private individuals and organizations worldwide. There are presently two branches of NISEE; one located at U. C. Berkeley, and one located at Caltech. In addition to its national role, the Caltech Branch provides an easily accessible resource for the large and active community of earthquake engineering and seismic safety related specialists in the Southern California region. During the next period of operation, the Caltech Branch will maintain and upgrade the current general resource data base and will work to increase its accessibility to the user community. In addition, the Branch will undertake a major new initiative in the important area of earthquake strong ground motion. A special resource base will be established to meet the increased strong-motion data needs of individuals in such fields as risk assessment, structural performance analysis, and code development.
