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Project Title: Development of an Updated Plan to Coordinate NEHRP Post-Earthquake Investigations, Phase II
Client: U.S. Geological Survey
Purpose: To develop an update to USGS Circular 1242, The Plan to Coordinate NEHRP Post-Earthquake Investigations, that provides a framework for the coordination of post-earthquake investigations by the four NEHRP agencies (FEMA, NIST, NSF, USGS) and partner organizations.
COMPLETED PUBLICATIONS
2022
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February 2022 – Utah K-12 Public Schools Unreinforced Masonry Inventory Methods, Findings, and Recommendations, prepared in collaboration with the Utah Division of Emergency Management and FEMA Region 8, highlights the urgent need for action to reduce the earthquake risk from unreinforced masonry buildings in public school inventories. |
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March 2022 – NIST GCR 22-917-50, Benchmarking Evaluation Methodologies for Existing Reinforced Concrete Buildings, summarizes the findings of the NIST-funded ATC-134 project series that was initiated in 2016. In this project, analytical models for eight reinforced concrete structures were created following provisions in ASCE/SEI 41‑17, Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing Buildings, and results were compared to observed performance of buildings subjected to earthquake shaking to benchmark the performance of computer simulation models. The report includes recommended improvements to the currently published procedures for consideration by the ASCE Standards Committee on Seismic Rehabilitation and ACI 369 Seismic Repair and Rehabilitation Committee. |
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August 2022 – The Coastal Inundation in Developed Regions: Experimental Results and Implications for Engineering Practice, was prepared for University of Notre Dame with funding from NIST. This report presents the results of a series of experimental and numerical studies of wave and current flow through developed coastal regions and recommends possible improvements to engineering practice and flood design provisions in building codes and standards. |
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September 2022 – NIST GCR 22-917-51, Research Plan for the Study of Pre-Northridge Earthquake PJP-welded Column Splices and Weak Panel Zones, was prepared under the NIST-funded ATC-153 project and defines the scope of a comprehensive, long-range research plan to better understand the seismic behavior of two major vulnerabilities of pre-Northridge steel moment frames: column splices constructed with partial joint penetration groove welds (PJP column splices) and weak panel zones in beam-to-column moment connections. |
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September 2022 – A second edition of FEMA P-749, Earthquake-Resistant Design Concepts: An Introduction to Seismic Provisions for New Buildings, was prepared under the FEMA-funded ATC-137 project. The second edition was expanded to cover a wider range of topics than the previous edition, and includes updates for consistency with the latest design standards. FEMA P-749 provides an overview of earthquake-resistant design concepts and their context within the seismic requirements of U.S. building codes. The document is written for both a general audience to present a high-level, approachable explanation of the basis and intent of U.S. seismic provisions and an engineering audience, and provides a walkthrough of the seismic design process for new buildings.
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September 2022 – The Proceedings of FEMA-Sponsored Workshop on Functional Recovery, presents the findings and conclusions from a workshop intended to coordinate the various efforts related to functional recovery being undertaken at the local and national levels, and to advance the concepts of reoccupancy and functional recovery using the latest information from the FEMA-funded ATC-138 project. |
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December 2022 – SPONSE/ATC-161, Proceedings of Fifth International Workshop on Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements (SPONSE) was published following the event held December 5-7, 2022. The workshop, focused entirely on research and design practice for nonstructural elements, was organized jointly by ATC, the European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (EUCENTRE) and the International Association for the Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements (SPONSE), and hosted by the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center at Stanford University. |
Project Title: ATC Hazards by Location Website for Geographic-Based Design Parameters
Client: ATC Endowment Fund
Purpose: To update and enhance the ATC windspeed and ground snow load websites, and to add additional functionality related to other hazards, including tornado, earthquake, flood, hurricane, ice, and tsunami.
Website: https://hazards.atcouncil.org/
API: https://hazards.atcouncil.org/api
Sponsorship: This website was initially funded by the ATC Endowment Fund because of its importance to practicing professionals. We encourage you to help sponsor the site by making a donation to the ATC Endowment Fund to defray the initial website development cost and the cost of ongoing maintenance.
Project Title: Improving Seismic Design of New Buildings
Client: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Purpose: Part 1: to quantify and validate the seismic performance of buildings in very high seismic risk regions, to identify weaknesses in current code provisions and design practices for these buildings, and to provide recommendations for any necessary code modifications and improvements to design practices. Part 2: to complete the update of the FEMA P-1026 technical guidance document by incorporating new information on metal deck diaphragms and improvements developed by the 2020 NEHRP Provisions Update Committee Issue Team 9.
Project Title: Research Plan for the Study of Pre-Northridge Earthquake Weak Panel Zones in Welded Column Splices with PJP Groove Welds
Client: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Purpose: To develop a comprehensive, concise long-range program plan to research the seismic behavior of pre-Northridge weak panel zones and welded column splices in steel frames.
 Michael Valley |
As a former Principal at Magnusson Klemencic Associates in Seattle, Mike Valley comes to ATC with more than 30 years of structural engineering experience in new design, evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings, applied research, and codes and standards development. Mike’s design experience includes the landmark Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, and his research and development experience includes the FEMA 356 Prestandard and Commentary for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings, FEMA P-2012 Assessing Seismic Performance of Buildings with Configuration Irregularities (ATC-123 Project), and NIST GCR 10-917-9 Applicability of Nonlinear Multiple-Degree-of-Freedom Modeling for Design (ATC-76-6 Project).
Mike also has extensive experience as an ATC consultant serving as a reviewer, a technical contributor, and Project Director on multiple ATC projects. We look forward to how Mike’s unique experiences as a successful team member will contribute to ATC projects in the future. |
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Retired from federal service as a Senior Geophysicist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Mike Mahoney comes to ATC with more than 30 years of experience in hazard mitigation program management and policy development, post-disaster response and recovery, and problem-focused research and development in support of FEMA’s efforts under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). He has led FEMA’s earthquake-related work with the International Code Council and has been involved with the development of national model codes and standards since 1984. In his career at FEMA, Mike has led the development of countless major FEMA publications, including: FEMA 350 Recommended Seismic Design Criteria for New Steel Moment-Frame Buildings and its series of companion reports (ATC-41 Project series), FEMA P-58 Seismic Performance Assessment of Buildings, Methodology and Implementation (ATC-58 Project series), FEMA P-695 Quantification of Building Seismic Performance Factors (ATC-63 Project), FEMA P-2018 Seismic Evaluation of Older Concrete Buildings for Collapse Potential (ATC-78 Project), and FEMA P-2090/NIST SP-1254 Recommended Options for Improving the Built Environment for Post-Earthquake Reoccupancy and Functional Recovery Time (ATC-137 Project). With Mike’s extensive knowledge of federal government programs, and past collaboration with state and local agencies, hazard mitigation partners, and code development organizations, we look forward to how his unique experiences will help serve ATC’s client needs and objectives in the future. |
