Aug 4, 2016 -- There's still time to join us for the fourth in a series of webinars sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that highlight the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) 2015 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for Buildings and Other Structures.

The National Institute of Building Sciences Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) will host a free webinar on the topic, “Seismic Isolation Design with the 2015 NEHRP Recommended Provisions,” Thursday, August 11, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm ET.

Seismic isolation is perhaps the most effective method available for protecting structures from earthquake damage. The 2015 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for Buildings and Other Structures contain updated requirements for the design and testing of seismic isolation systems and the design of isolated superstructures.

Presenter Andrew W. Taylor, PhD, SE, FACI, will begin with an introduction to seismic isolation theory and systems, followed by a review of the seismic isolation design process, with emphasis on the revised requirements in the 2015 Provisions. He will present a design example, and close the webinar with a discussion of the properties of seismic isolation systems, including the variability of properties and seismic isolation testing requirements.

A member of BSSC, Dr. Taylor has 30 years of experience in structural engineering research and practice, including seven years with the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His specialty is the evaluation and design of buildings, particularly critical facilities that require enhanced levels of performance under extreme loads.

Dr. Taylor is an associate at KPFF Consulting Engineers. He served as the lead structural engineer for design of the seismic isolation and damping system for the Tzu Chi General Hospital in Taiwan, which is the largest base-isolated hospital in the world; the seismic isolation retrofit of the historic 1875 Pioneer Courthouse in Portland, Oregon; the seismic isolation design of four seismically isolated biotech research laboratories in Seattle, Washington; and the Liberty Mutual Data Center in Redmond, Washington. Dr. Taylor is a current and past member of numerous technical committees at the local and national level, including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Structural Engineers Association of Washington, American Concrete Institute (ACI), Applied Technology Council (ATC) and the National Research Council. Current and recent memberships include Task Committee 12 on Seismic Isolation and Energy Dissipation for the 2016 edition of the ASCE 7 standard, the concrete building code committee ACI 318 and project team member for project ATC-98 on the use of high-strength reinforcement for seismic design. He participated on post-earthquake reconnaissance teams following the 1994 Northridge (California), 1995 Kobe (Japan), 2001 Nisqually (Washington) and 2011 Tohoku (Japan) earthquakes. He also serves as an affiliate professor in the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington, where he has taught courses in structural analysis and reinforced concrete design.

EARN AND LEARN

Attendees are eligible to earn one health/safety/welfare (HSW) learning unit (LU) professional development hour (PDH) for the webinar. People are encouraged to watch the webinar together as a group or a firm, but all viewers must sign up individually to receive learning unit verifications.

REGISTER TO ATTEND

Sign up now to attend the free “Seismic Isolation Design with the 2015 NEHRP Recommended Provisions” webinar on August 11. Space is limited, so don’t wait. Register today!

Missed the first three webinars in the series?

View the presentations .

About the National Institute of Building Sciences

The National Institute of Building Sciences , authorized by public law 93-383 in 1974, is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that brings together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to identify and resolve building process and facility performance problems. The Institute serves as an authoritative source of advice for both the private and public sectors with respect to the use of building science and technology.

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