THE NEES COLLABORATORY: ADVANCING SEISMIC MITIGATION

This presentation will discuss the contributions of NEES to ongoing seismic mitigation efforts. The NEES Consortium, Inc. (NEESinc) was incorporated in 2004 to operate and maintain a national collaboratory in earthquake engineering simulation for a ten-year operation period (2005-2014). A collaboratory has been defined as “… an organizational entity that spans distance, supports rich and recurring human interaction oriented to a common research area, and provides access to data resources, artifacts and tools required to accomplish key tasks...” NEES is a shared national network of 15 experimental facilities, collaborative tools, a centralized data repository, and earthquake simulation software, all linked by the ultra-high-speed Internet2 connections of NEESgrid. Together, these resources provide the means for collaboration and discovery in the form of more advanced research based on experimentation and computational simulations of the ways buildings, bridges, utility systems, coastal regions, and geomaterials perform during seismic events. As a collaboratory, the success of NEES depends primarily on the active participation of the community. The five key goals of NEESinc are: •Foster and facilitate the shared use of the NEES facilities. •Fund the operation and maintenance of the NEES facilities. •Develop policies for the safe and effective use of the NEES facilities. •Provide support and access tools to the collaboratory through its information technologies service center. •Provide a sound business strategy and management for the collaboratory through a centralized staff. NEES will revolutionize earthquake engineering research and education. NEES research will enable engineers to develop better and more cost-effective ways of mitigating earthquake damage through the innovative use of improved designs, materials, construction techniques, and monitoring tools. This research can also help prevent infrastructure damage from other natural disasters and from terrorism. Preparing for and protecting against these threats makes American communities more resilient and enhances their ability to meet the challenges posed by future disasters.