The magnitude 9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 impacted an extensive region of Japan and subjected the built environment and social systems of a technologically advanced society in a way unparalleled by any previous earthquake. The subsequent tsunami inundated and destroyed cities and infrastructure along hundreds of kilometers of coastline. The March 2011 event has significant implications for the northwest United States, particularly in understanding the likely impact of a great earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone. As a consequence, the March 2011 event has been closely studied by U.S. researchers to understand these impacts, identify knowledge gaps, and begin to fill these gaps to mitigate future losses from events of this scale in the United States. Rapid response research investigations of this Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami were supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under a series of RAPID awards and supplements. RAPID grantees participated in a workshop at NSF in February 2012 to identify emerging research needs from this event and from major New Zealand earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. This workshop also included researchers from Japan supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) under J-RAPID awards to investigate the March 2011 event and from New Zealand who had investigated those recent earthquakes. This award supports travel for up to 15 U.S. researchers to participant in the final J-RAPID Symposium to be held in Sendai, Japan on March 6-7, 2013. Organized by JST and Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), this international event will include participation by researchers from France, Indonesia, Japan, and United States. Participation in this workshop will allow U.S. RAPID grantees to review progress since the February 2012 workshop in defining emerging research needs with Japanese colleagues and other international participants. Major topics to be discussed at symposium include research needs in geosciences (oceanography and geotechnical engineering), structures (tsunami impacts), nuclear power plants (communications and social sciences), and advanced technologies (information technology, social media, and robotics). The symposium will enable exchange of international experiences and reactions to the March 2011 disaster and share how different countries have realigned their priorities for research, preparedness, and recovery as a result of studying this event.
Knowledge gained by participation in this symposium will be used to set research agendas and priorities for the next decade and beyond. Symposium participants will also identify collaborative opportunities for joint research and contribute to an acceleration of advances in earthquake hazard mitigation. Safer, more resilient communities in earthquake hazard zones in the United States and around the world are expected to be the long term impact. Dissemination of the findings and recommendations from the symposium will be made through the distribution of Symposium Proceedings to be published by the Japanese organizing committee. This award is co-funded by the Directorate for Engineering, Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation, and the Office of International and Integrative Activities.
Intellectual Merit The M 9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 impacted an extensive region of Japan, subjecting the built environment and social systems of a technologically advanced society in a way unparalleled by any previous earthquake. The subsequent tsunami inundated and destroyed cities, towns, and infrastructure along hundreds of kilometers of coastline. This event has had significant implications for the United States, particularly in understanding the likely impact of a great earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone beneath Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. As a consequence the event has been closely studied by teams of U.S. researchers and practitioners to understand these impacts, identify knowledge gaps, and begin to fill these gaps, so as to mitigate future losses from events of this scale in the U.S. Much of the initial response to this disaster was funded by the National Science Foundation under a series of RAPID Grants, and included a workshop on Emerging Research Needs and Opportunities held in Washington DC in February 2012. The travel grant provided under this award supported the participation of ten U.S. researchers from various disciplines, in the Final J-RAPID Symposium which was held on the campus of Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, March 6-7, 2013. Organized by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), this international event was attended not only by researchers from US (15) and Japan (45), but also from France (22) and Indonesia (1). Its purpose was to review progress since the 2012 Workshop in Washington DC, and refine research themes and recommendations as necessary. A half-day tour to the tsunami-recovery zone near Sendai followed the conclusion of the Symposium. Major topics discussed at this 2-day meeting included needs and opportunities in geosciences (including oceanography and geotechnical engineering), structures (including tsunami impacts), nuclear power plants (including communications and social sciences), and advanced technologies (including information technology, social media, and robotics). All of the presentations made at the Symposium, including the reports from the breakout sessions, have been published online by JST and are available at: www.jst.go.jp/sicp/ws2013_j-rapid_result.html Broader Impacts The opportunity to revisit, reshape, and refine the themes and recommendations from the 2012 Workshop was particularly valuable for the US participants who are now better informed as to changes required in research agendas and priorities for the next decade. In addition, it was apparent that great earthquakes need not be great disasters. They are, however, learning opportunities to improve the resilience of our communities against future disasters. But a degree of urgency prevails and international collaboration is the best way, perhaps the only way, to win this race against time.
