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Celebrating the Past, Engaging the Present, and Envisioning the Future
December 8, 2023   |   San Francisco
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NEWS RELEASE
October 6, 2017

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The Applied Technology Council (ATC) would like to express its deepest sympathies over the loss of life and property in Mexico as a result of the recent earthquakes.  In support of ongoing U.S. Government-funded research and development projects in earthquake engineering, the ATC Endowment Fund is sponsoring a team of experts to investigate the performance of buildings in Mexico City following the September 19, 2017 magnitude-7.1 earthquake.  Although our focus is on engineering issues, we are cognizant of ongoing response and recovery efforts.  Through investigations such as this, we hope to contribute to the state-of-knowledge for avoiding losses in future earthquakes, both in the United States and internationally.

Led by Ramon Gilsanz (U.S. on-site leader), Sissy Nikolaou (U.S. off-site coordinator), and Rodolfo Valles Mattox (Mexico on-site leader), the team includes structural engineers, building instrumentation researchers, and geotechnical and seismology specialists from around the world.  The team will be charged with collecting detailed information on structural design, vibration properties, site and seismological characteristics, strong ground motion records, and performance of engineered reinforced concrete structures that are relevant to ongoing ATC projects funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  It is anticipated that this data collection effort will allow for comprehensive follow-up studies in ways that have rarely, if ever, been possible before. 

This work will be used to assist in the calibration and contribute to the further development of methodologies, guidelines, and standards for seismic performance assessment applicable to concrete buildings in the United States and internationally.

Engineering firms and research institutions participating in the team include:

  • Gilsanz Murray Steficek, New York
  • WSP, New York, Miami, Mexico
  • Degenkolb Engineers, San Francisco
  • Forell/Elsesser Engineers, San Francisco
  • IDS Group, Irvine
  • Rutherford + Chekene, San Francisco
  • National Technical University of Athens, Greece
  • University at Buffalo
  • University of Greenwich, UK
  • Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

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 Welcome to the ATC Team!

Valley Mike cropMichael 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.

Michael Mahoney
Michael Mahoney

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.