Four joint NEES/E-Defense projects are currently underway as a part of the NEES/E-Defense collaborative earthquake engineering research program. While the success of these four projects is a testament to the productivity of this program, additional planning must continue to coordinate and institute additional joint projects in all six areas identified under the program’s “resilient communities” theme including:
- a. New materials and new technologies
- b. Base-isolation and vibration control
- c. Geotechnical engineering (underground structures)
- d. Energy facilities
- e. Computational simulation
- f. Monitoring and health monitoring
With this goal, the NEES/E-Defense joint management committee is seeking US-based researchers to participate in the 9th joint planning meeting for the NEES/E-Defense Collaborative Earthquake Engineering Research Program.
The planning meeting is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, AUGUST 26 and 27, 2011, in Kobe and Miki (E-Defense), Japan. The meeting registration site is now open for researchers to indicate their interest in attending the NEES/E-Defense Planning Meeting.
For more information on this and past meetings, and to register your interesting in attending the 2011 meeting, visit the 9th NEES/E-Defense Planning Meeting Website.
Due to the short time until the meeting, all interested researchers are encouraged to complete the registration at the website above as soon as possible. There is limited space so preference will be given to individuals who register early. The site allows registrants to sign up for the meeting and indicate preferences for working groups. It is also the official mechanism for applying for partial or full travel support to attend the meeting. If you would like to be considered for travel support, please fill out the registration form including the travel support section by July 6 for full consideration. NSF has indicated that travel support should not be provided to individuals who have current projects related to NEES/E-Defense investigations.
At a later date, E-Defense will set up a separate website for participants to register for the meeting, coordinate information on arrival and departure times, identify number of people needed to be accommodated in buses, and collect nominal registration fees.
At the time of the meeting, there will also be a shaking table test of a full-scale, 5-story tall, seismically isolated steel building. This test is a collaborative effort between the NEEStips Project (Keri Ryan, PI), the NEES Nonstructural Grand Challenge Project (Manos Maragakis, PI) and NIED/E-Defense investigators. More information on this test, and a related blind analysis contest and a workshop on protective systems to be held at E-Defense can be found at: http://www.unr.edu/engineering/cee/faculty/klryan/NEESTIPS/E-Defense.htm