University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) has been added as a PEER Transitional Core Institution by the PEER Institutional Board. The transitional membership status has duration of 3 years, and at the end of that time, UNR may apply for full Core membership. During the 3-year transitional period, the representative of UNR on the Institutional Board will have full voting rights and UNR will be listed on the PEER website and other materials as one of PEER’s Core Institutions. UNR’s addition as a core institution increases the number of PEER Core Institutions to a total of 11 universities including the California Institute of Technology, Oregon State University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine; UCLA, UC San Diego, USC, and the University of Washington.

“We are very excited to join PEER that has the premier Earthquake Engineering institutions on the west coast. Our researchers will collaborate with other PEER members to achieve the PEER mission and objectives in protecting human lives and having resilient infrastructure and cities,” stated Ahmad Itani, Chair of the
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNR.

Research testing facilities at UNR include two geotechnical labs and two structural labs. Research activities include accelerated bridge construction, anchor zone performance, earthquake protective systems, fluid-structure interaction (FSI/tsunami inundation), innovative materials, non-structural systems, performance-based design (PBD), remote sensing, and soil-structure interaction (SSI). Faculty work closely with the Technical Committees of the Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in Washington DC.

“UNR’s activities complement and are synergistic with the PEER mission, and we look forward to having UNR be actively involved in the Center activities and jointly exploring new opportunities for research activities of interest to PEER’s mission,” noted Khalid Mosalam, PEER Director.