Earthquake engineering research in the UK

摘要

Dating back to the days of Robert Mallet (1810 -1881) and John Milne (1850 - 1913), the UK has a long tradition of research into earthquake resistant design and this continues today. A recent reportl by the UK Society for Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics (SECED) on how to enhance utilisation of seismic research by the UK consulting industry found a wide range of relevant research at 13 centres. One recommendation of the SECED report was that SECED should commission a web-based directory of UK-based academic research centres and researchers engaged in seismic research, and the SECED committee has decided to fund this project, which is expected to be completed by the end of next year. The directory will be searchable by topic, and the intention is that it will make it easier for practitioners facing a particular problem in seismic engineering to find academic personnel with relevant expertise. For further details, please contact the secretary of SECED at the Institution of Civil Engineers (tel: 020 7665 2238 email: secre-tary@seced.org.uk). A snapshot of some current projects at various centres, which may be of interest to practitioners follows. Strong motion and seismic hazard studies, steel, steel-concrete and historic masonry buildings structures, energy dissipating devices and earthquake field reconnaissance are all featured.