USGS Researcher Receives Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers

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USGS Researcher Receives Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers

April 2007

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Above: Award recipients (standing, from left to right): Rob Kayen, Onder Cetin, Les Harder, Kohji Tokimatsu, and Robb Moss, with ASCE Honorary Member Ralph Peck (seated); not present: Raymond Seed and Armen Der Kiureghian. [larger version]

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist Robert Kayen was among a group of researchers who received the Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award, the highest award for geotechnical engineering research given by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The researchers developed new correlations for probabilistic assessment of the likelihood of triggering earthquake-induced soil liquefaction. These modeled relationships greatly reduce the uncertainty in predicting seismic soil liquefaction. The awardees represent a range of institutions in several countries: the Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey), the University of California, Berkeley; the Tokyo Institute of Technology; the California Department of Water Resources; the USGS; and California Polytechnic State University, San Lius Obispo.

The Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award is given to researchers by ASCE for a paper judged worthy of special commendation for its merit as a contribution to the field of geotechnical engineering. ASCE presents only one Middlebrooks Award annually. Rob Kayen and his colleagues received the award on February 21, 2007, in Denver, Colorado, at the national meeting of the GeoInstitute, one of seven specialty institutes of ASCE.

The citation of the paper for which the group received the Middlebrooks Award is:

Cetin, K. Onder, Seed, Raymond B., Der Kiureghian, Armen, Tokimatsu, Kohji, Harder, Leslie F. Jr., Kayen, Robert E., Moss, Robert E.S., 2004, SPT-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction potential: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, v. 130, no. 12, p. 1314-1340.

Standard Penetration Test-Based Probabilistic and Deterministic Assessment of Seismic Soil Liquefaction Potential
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering

American Society of Civil Engineers
engineering society

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April 2007

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cover story:
Deadly Tsunami Hits Solomon Islands

Tsunami-Forecasting System Tested by Recent Earthquakes

Sub-Sea-Floor Methane in the Bering Sea

USGS Donates Equipment to Local Nonprofit Theater

Getting to Know ET (Evapotranspiration)

International Workshop on High-Seas Biogeography

USGS Researcher Receives Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers

USGS Sirenia Project Receives Manatee Hero Award

April Publications List