We congratulate Adjunct Professor Norman Abrahamson on his election to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for 2018.
Abrahamson was elected for his contributions to seismic hazard assessment and for leadership in engineering seismology and earthquake engineering.
Abrahamson is chief engineering seismologist at Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for Piedmont, CA. He has been involved in strong motion seismology for 18 years. He has also been an Adjunct Professor in CEE since 2003.
Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature" and to "the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."
Abrahamson has extensive experience in the practical application of seismology to the development of deterministic and probabilistic seismic criteria (response spectra, and/or time histories) for engineering design or analyses.
He has been involved in developing design ground motions for hundreds of projects including dams, bridges, nuclear power plants, nuclear waste repositories, water and gas pipelines, rail lines, ports, landfills, hospitals, electric substations, and office buildings.
See Two PEER Colleagues Elected to National Academy of Engineering (Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, 2.8.18)