CENTRE FOR EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING RESEARCH

Of all the natural disasters, earthquakes are the most feared one as they lead to a huge loss to life and property. The increasing population and the rising urbanization in India suggest that the impact of earthquake on human population is bound to increase in the coming decades. Therefore, there is a need to conduct research to assess the types of damages due to earthquakes and the methods to prevent them. In this context, Centre for Earthquake Engineering Research (CEER) is going to be established under the aegis of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Patna.

Keeping in mind of the possible earthquake in the Himalayas and in Bihar this research centre is aimed at evaluating risk and looking for corrective measures in the northern Indian states, in particular for Bihar. This centre can be useful for providing information and tools for risk management, emergency planning and also useful for civil protection, prevention and preparedness.

The main objective of the centre is to work towards earthquake risk mitigation in the region and in the country. The objective of the centre may be achieved by

• advancing the practice of earthquake engineering

• improving understanding of the impact of earthquakes on the physical, social, economic, political, and cultural environment

• advocating comprehensive and realistic measures for reducing the harmful effects of earthquakes.

In addition to conducting research the centre intends to disseminate its findings to earthquake professionals who are involved in the practice of earthquake engineering, through various mechanisms including workshops and seminars. The centre also intends to conduct education and outreach programs to reach students, policy makers, and others interested in earthquake related issues. The overall mission of this centre is to develop, validate, and disseminate seismic design technologies for buildings and infrastructure to meet the diverse economic and safety needs of the society.

The centre will have the state-of-the art laboratory facilities as well as teaching/training infrastructure. The laboratory testing facility will be comprised of large and small-scale cyclic testing facility, biaxial shake-table test bed, high capacity computational facility etc. The teaching/training, computational and audio-visual facilities will be shared along with Centre for Endangered Language Studies.

CEER’s Vision: To have a community in which potential earthquake losses are widely understood and for which realistic steps have been taken to address those risks.

CEER’s Role: To become a pioneer in earthquake engineering investigations and in the dissemination of earthquake risk reduction information both in Bihar and nationally in cooperation with its regional partners.

IIT Patna is thankful to Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh, Honourable Member of Parliament of India for his kind support to establish the CEER. For any information regarding the CEER, please contact Dr. Vaibhav Singhal (email: singhal@iitp.ac.in).