College of Engineering co-sponsors China meeting

Twenty concerned U.S. earthquake scientists, engineers and hazard planners, including a contingent of five from Hawaiʻi, will meet with Chinese colleagues from October 18 to 22 to focus on new research ideas to minimize future earthquake disasters.

The National Science Foundation, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering, Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaiʻi and Earthquake Engineering Research Institute are supporting the USA team for scientific exchange to advance earthquake science and hazard mitigation practices to reduce the future loss of life and property damage.

In a project accepted by Lu Yongxiang, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and supported by the Architectural Society of China and the China Science Center of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, the USA team will participate in a one day symposium on October 19, as well as two days of site visits to the location of the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, where over 69,197 lost their lives 374,176 people were injured and more than 4.8 million people became homeless. The USA team will also participate in two days of meetings with other organizations including the China Earthquake Administration, China Academy of Building Research, Ministry of Civil Affairs Natural Disaster Reduction Centre, Beijing Normal University-Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management, Tsinghua University-Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Project and other institutions.

By making advances in the siting of structures, construction design, building codes, rehabilitation of existing structures, pre-disaster planning, emergency response and implementation, risk from future events can be reduced in China, the USA and internationally.

The Hawaiʻi contingent includes Ian Robertson, UH Mānoa professor of civil and environmental engineering, Dennis Hwang, coastal zone mitigation specialist with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Sea Grant College, and Gary Chock and Guangren Yu, both with the Hawaiʻi structural engineering firm of Martin & Chock, Inc.

For more information contact Dennis Hwang at djhopglaw@gmail.com (808-542-7263), Marjorie Greene at mgreene@eeri.org (415-613-0243) or Ian Robertson at ianrob@hawaii.edu (808-383-0534).