Events

Wenchuan Reconnaissance Team

Report1 from 3 Nov 2008 by Philip Yong & Jiashun Yu

The NZSEE team all arrived safely in Chengdu on Monday, 3 Nov 2008 and met up with Jiasun Yu, a co-leader of the reconnaissance mission. Jiashun was based in Chengdu over the last few weeks, he has been co-ordinating the detailed arrangement for the mission with our host the Chengdu University of Technology.

Their activities are as follows, subject to weather:

4 Nov (Tue) Wenchuan District, travelling from Dujiangyan to Yin Xiu: covering the Zipingpu Dam, Bei Hua Bridge that was severely damaged, buildings in Dujiangyan and Yin Xiu, landslides effects. Report ...
5 Nov (Wed) Beichuan District, covering principally landslides and ruptures Report ...
6 Nov (Thur) Workshop Report ...
7 Nov (Fri) Hanwan Township: will see buildings, quake lakes, subject to final arrangement: the base isolated hospital. Report ...
8 Nov (Sat) Highway Design Institute, Chengdu City Mayoral Office.
9 Nov (Sun) Back up day
10 Nov (Mon) Sichuan Seismological Bureau.
11 Nov (Tue) Leaving Chengdu.

The team members are
Jiashun Yu Geophysicist, GNS Science, Lower Hutt
Philip Yong Director, Clendon Burns & Park Ltd, Wellington
P Brabhaharan Principal, OPUS International Consultants, Wellington
Stuart Read Senior Engineering Geologist, GNS Science, Lower Hutt
Meng Fon Mayor, Gisborne

The Society is grateful for the sponsorship provided by the EQC for travel expeNses and for the team members organiZation's who provide their time for the trip and the subsequent reporting/presentations.

The EERI have many useful links. [The PEER Wenchuan Earthquake Seminar (San Francisco, Aug 2008) presentations are available from their available from the PEER website.]

Australian Earthquake Engineering Conference AEES 2008

The annual Australian Earthquake Engineering Society conference is being held from Fri 21-23 November, 2008 at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.

The 2008 AEES conference Ballarat will be over three half-days, like the NZSEE annual conference. The call for papers requested abstracts by 1 May and full papers by 1 August.

2009 NZSEE Annual Technical Conference and AGM

3-5 April 2009, Christchurch

The conference will be have the theme "Why do we still tolerate buildings that are unsafe in earthquakes?"

The conference organising committee welcomes abstracts consistent with the theme and in the following categories: Please visit the 2009 Conference Management Page to look at the first call for papers and to submit your abstract.

2008 NZSEE and Conference Awards

Dr. Bill Robinson was made a life member of the Society (see citation).

Dr. Barry Davidson was made a fellow of the Society.

The Ivan Skinner Award was presented to Associate Professor Misko Cubrinovski (see citation).

The Otto Glogau Award was presented to Rajesh Dhakal, John Mander & Naoto Mashiko for their paper Identification of critical ground motions for seismic performance of structures published in Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, Vol. 35, February 2006, pp 989-1008.

The Research Scholarship was awarded to Brendon Bradley for his proposed research on /Seismic Loss Estimation and Soil-pile-structure Systems/.

The Best Research Paper was by Tobias Smith, S. Pampanin, A.H. Buchanan and M. Fragiacomo on Feasibility and Detailing of Prestressed Timber Buildings for Seismic Areas.

The Best Practice Papers were John Wood on Design of Retaining Walls for Outward Displacement in Earthquakes and Sean Gledhill, G.K.Sidwell, and D.K.Bell on The Damage Avoidance design of tall steel Frame Buildings – Fairlie Terrace Student Accommodation Project, Victoria University of Wellington

The Best Poster was by Eu Ving Au, G.A. MacRae, D. Pettinga, B.L. Deam and V. Sadashiva on Simple Design for Yielding Structures Subject to Torsion.

The Best Student Paper was by Michael Chung and T. Larkin on Non linear Foundation Response of Liquid Storage Tanks under Seismic Loading.

EventArchive

PEER have the presentations from their San Francisco Wenchuan Earthquake Seminar available on their website!