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John A. Blume Distinguished Lecture Series

This lecture series is presented by the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center, which encourages the advancement of earthquake engineering research and education at Stanford. The center was established in 1974 by a donation from John A. Blume, often called the "father of earthquake engineering."

Dr. Blume is a world-renowned structural engineer who dedicated his professional life to the advancement of structural engineering. His extraordinary career spanned more than fifty years, and in recognition of his pioneering contributions to research and professional achievements, he received numerous medals and awards. He received his doctorate in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford in 1967 -- 34 years to the day after receiving his bachelor's degree on campus. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Blume was a three-time winner of the Leon S. Moisseiff Annual Award.

The John A. Blume Distinguished Lecture is given once a year by a structural engineer whose career best exemplifies Dr. Blume’s outstanding achievements.

March 10, 2022 Structures as Collective Art
Mark Sarkisian, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
February 22, 2021 Five Futures: Strategies for Shaping our Built Environment
Craig Schwitter, PE, Principal, BuroHappold Engineering
October 9, 2019 Technical Advances and Remaining Challenges since Loma Prieta
Chris Poland SE, NAE, Consulting Engineer, Chairman and CEO, Degenkolb Engineers, retired
November 7, 2018 The Promise of Smart Materials in Earthquake Resistant Design
Reginald DesRoches, Ph.D., F. ASCE, F. SEI, William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering, George R. Brown School of Engineering, Rice University
February 20, 2018 Think Like an Engineer
David Goodyear, T.Y. Lin
January 24, 2017 Recent Advances in Accelerated and Stabilized Meshfree Method for Modeling Manmade and Natural Disasters
J.S. Chen , University of California, San Diego
March 3, 2016 New Trends in Structural Topology Optimization: From Building Design to Craniofacial Reconstructive Surgery
Glaucio H. Paulino, Georgia Institute of Technology
February 25, 2015 Cyberinfrastructure Enabled Analysis, Simulation, Design and Monitoring of Structures under Winds
Ahsan Kareem, Dist. MASCE, NAE NatHaz Modeling Laboratory, University of Notre Dame
February 26, 2014 End-to-End Earthquake Simulation: From the Source to Propagation Path, Site Effects, and Seismic Response of Building Clusters
Jacobo Bielak
February 20, 2013 Earthquake Forecasting as a System-Science Problem
Thomas H. Jordan
March 1, 2012 Isogeometric Analysis
Thomas J.R. Hughes, University of Texas at Austin
January 19, 2011 Probabilistic Simulation of Fatigue Processes in a High-Strength Aluminum Alloy
Anthony R. Ingraffea
May 10, 2010 Protecting the World's Most Vulnerable Communities from Earthquakes
Arrietta Chakos, Reginald DesRoches, Brian E. Tucker
January 21, 2009 Building Disaster Resilient Communities
Chris D. Poland
April 17, 2008 Extending Structure and Architecture - Studies in Structural Topology
William F. Baker
May 10, 2007 Protecting Our Infrastructure Against Natural and Man-Made Hazards
Frieder Seible
April 7, 2005 A Rational Defense Against Irrational Acts: Civil Engineering Aspects of Homeland Security
Jeremy Isenberg
November 29, 2001 Investigation of the World Trade Center Collapse
Ronald O. Hamburger, ABS Consulting
October 25, 2000 Compatibility Criteria Relevant to Displacement Ductility
Tom Paulay, University of Canterbury, New Zealand