EERI Student Chapter at UT-Austin

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute

About EERI

EERI, founded in 1949, is the principal U.S. society of engineers, geoscientists, architects, planners, public officials, and social scientists concerned about earthquakes and their effects. The objectives of the Institute are the advancement of the science and practice of earthquake engineering to protect people and property from the effects of earthquakes.

EERI's programs draw on its unique interdisciplinary membership, fostering communication among those disciplines to bridge the gap between new knowledge, design, practice and policy. The primary work of the Institute is carried out by volunteers serving on nearly two dozen active committees that have produced numerous slide sets and popular monographs dealing with the basics of earthquake engineering and seismology; organize earthquake briefings and technical seminars; and develop a policy action program to provide information to state and local governments on hazard mitigation.

The Institute is best known for its field investigations and reconnaissance reports detailing the effects of destructive earthquakes. Often EERI serves as coordinator for the investigative efforts of several organizations. EERI members include the leading earthquake professionals throughout the world. Information on the effects of destructive events is published in the monthly Newsletter and in Earthquake Spectra, EERI's quarterly professional journal. The newsletter and the journal are provided to all members.

EERI has produced more than 45 slide sets covering specific earthquakes, earthquake resistant design, seismicity, unreinforced masonry buildings, loss reduction measures, mitigation of earthquake hazards, etc. Videotapes include technical briefings on the Armenia, Loma Prieta, Northridge, and Kobe earthquakes, as well as a lecture series on fundamentals of structural dynamics related to earthquake engineering.

EERI sponsors and co-sponsors major conferences in the USA and abroad, and organizes technical seminars and workshops, all of which provide forums for the exchange of information between researchers and practitioners in all the earthquake-related disciplines.

EERI membership is open to all individuals interested in earthquake hazard reduction.