George
W. Housner
is the C. F. Braun Professor Emeritus at the
California Institute of Technology. He is one of
the pioneers of earthquake engineering, and his
research has revealed the characteristics of
destructive ground shaking and has improved seismic
design methods for many types of structures. He has
chaired the Consulting Board for Earthquake Problems
of the California Department of Water Resources, the
Caltrans Seismic Advisory Board, and the Governor’s
Board of Inquiry on the Loma Prieta Earthquake.
Engineering projects on which Professor Housner has
consulted include the California Water Project, the
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System, the
trans-Arabian pipeline, as well as numerous dams,
buildings, nuclear facilities, ports and off-shore
oil platforms.
Professor Housner’s
contributions to earthquake engineering have been
recognized by his election to both the National
Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of
Engineering. He has served the Academies in many
capacities, including as chairman of committees on
earthquake engineering research, the International
Decade of Natural Hazard Reduction, and the
investigation into the 1964 Alaskan earthquake. In
1978, he led a delegation of earthquake engineers to
the People’s Republic of China as a follow-up to
President Nixon’s historic trip there six years
earlier. Professor Housner has been awarded the
National Medal of Science, the National Academy of
Engineering’s Founders Award, and the California
Earthquake Safety Foundation’s Alquist Award, and he
holds honorary doctorate degrees from the University
of Michigan and the University of Southern
California.
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