Leading Scientist Chosen as National Earthquake Conference Honorary Chair

PR Newswire

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Earthquake Conference (NEC2020) committee is pleased to announce that Dr. Howard H. Harary will serve as the Honorary Chair for the premier 2020 conference to be held March 4-6, 2020 in San Diego.

Dr. Harary is the Director of the Engineering Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) where he previously served as the Acting Director in the Manufacturing Engineering Lab. He currently chairs the ISO TC213 working group on general requirements for dimensional measuring equipment. Dr. Harary is a Post-doctoral Fellow, Yale University, and holds a Ph.D.in Biophysics form Harvard University.

Dr. Harary and NIST's Engineering Laboratory oversee the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), a four-agency program mandated by U.S. Congress to reduce the risks of life and property from future earthquakes in the United States.

"Due to Dr. Harary's role with NEHRP — which requires coordination among diverse partner federal agencies, including Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Geological Survey, and National Science Foundation — he deeply understands the connections among policy, practice, and research," said Heidi Tremayne, EERI Executive Director. "He knows that multidisciplinary sharing and collaboration, facilitated by conferences like the NEC, is critical to achieve the disaster-resilient buildings and infrastructure that are essential to our communities."

The dynamic conference agenda will feature the first public release of results from a new earthquake scenario and risk study for the San Diego region. Developed by experts over the last five years, the scenario will showcase the impacts and consequences of a potential M6.9 earthquake on the Rose Canyon.

The program highlights will also include findings from the M7.1 Anchorage earthquake, the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence, as well as the popular Seismic Design Competition featuring structural designs by more than 350 students from two dozen universities around the globe. Each team will design and construct a scaled wood mixed-use building based on a scenario in downtown San Diego, which will then be tested in several rounds of simulated earthquake shaking.

The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) will present the quadrennial NEC2020 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. The NEC2020 will focus on earthquake science, policy, practice, and engineering in conjunction with the 72nd EERI Annual Meeting.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available! Join Presenting Partners FEMA, NEHRP, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and USGS, and Presenting Sponsor California Earthquake Authority, Visionary Sponsors Computers & Structures, Kinemetrics, and San Diego Gas & Electric, Strategic Sponsor International Code Council, and Tabletop Sponsors Applied Technology Council, BRACELOK, Cal OES, CREW, FEMA, Haselton Baker Risk Group, ImageCat, ITT Enidine Inc., Keller, Maurer USA, Nanometrics, National Institute of Standards and Technology, SAFE-T-PROOF, Simpson Strong-Tie, Taylor Devices, and Quake Kare/Emergency Ready by clicking here.

To register or for more information on hotel, registration, and sponsorship visit www.earthquakeconference.org

About Howard Harary

Howard H. Harary is the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) Engineering Laboratory (EL), which promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology for engineered systems in ways that enhance economic security and improve quality of life.

A physicist turned measurement scientist, Harary began at NIST in 1985 as a bench scientist and steadily rose through the NIST ranks, from project leader to group leader to deputy director of the NIST Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory in 2004, and to director of the Engineering Laboratory in 2014.

EL has a staff of nearly 400 people, including more than 100 guest researchers who are distributed among five major research divisions, including two divisions focused on one of EL's four major laboratory goals -- Disaster-resilient Buildings, Infrastructure, and Communities. The goal comprises programs in: Earthquake Risk Reduction in Buildings and Infrastructure; Structural Performance Under Multi-hazards; Community Resilience; Engineered Materials for Resilient Infrastructure; Fire Risk Reduction in Buildings; and Fire Risk Reduction in Communities.

EL is also the home of NIST's overall lead agency responsibility for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), a four-agency program, comprising: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); United States Geological Survey (USGS); National Science Foundation (NSF); and NIST. NEHRP, most recently reauthorized in 2018, was established by Congress to reduce the risks of life and property from future earthquakes in the United States.

A New York native, Harary received his bachelor's degree in physics with honors from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1974, and a physics doctorate from Harvard University in 1983. He was a post-doctoral research fellow at Yale University from 1983 to 1985.

About NEC

The 2020 National Earthquake Conference is hosted by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), and FEMA. The NEC provides a unique opportunity for academia, building code experts, citizens, design/build professionals, FEMA directorates, first responders, geologists, local emergency managers, insurance and reinsurance professionals, local and tribal governments, private sector interests, public information officers, state government leaders, social science practitioners, U.S. State and Territorial Earthquake Managers, USGS leadership, and volunteers to share the latest advances in earthquake science, best practices for outreach and education, building science and code advancement, and policy initiatives that improve resiliency.

About EERI

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) is the leading non-profit membership organization that connects those dedicated to reducing earthquake risk. Our multidisciplinary members include engineers, geoscientists, social scientists, architects, planners, emergency managers, academics, students, and other like-minded professionals. EERI has been bringing people and disciplines together since 1948. Learn more at www.eeri.org.

About FLASH

The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) is the country's leading consumer advocate for strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and manmade disasters. The FLASH partnership includes more than 100 innovative and diverse organizations that share a vision of making America a more disaster-resilient nation including: BASF Corporation, FEMA, Florida Division of Emergency Management, Huber Engineered Woods, International Code Council, Lowe's, National Weather Service, Portland Cement Association, Simpson Strong-Tie, State Farm, and USAA. In 2008, FLASH, and Disney opened the interactive weather experience StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes, in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Learn more about FLASH and access free consumer resources by visiting www.flash.org, calling toll-free (877) 221- SAFE (7233), following @federalalliance on Twitter, on Facebook.com/federalalliance, and the FLASH blog – Protect Your Home in a FLASH.