Professor Jeffrey W. Berman, Ph. D., University of Washington

2019 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineers Association of Washington

Professor Jeffrey W. Berman, Ph. D.
University of Washington

Professor Jeffrey W. Berman, Ph. D., University of Washington, has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Academic Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his exceptional career as a structural engineering educator who integrated cutting edge research with engineering design and problem solving. His teaching, student advising, publications, lectures, and participation in technical conferences have led to significant advances in the state of earthquake engineering practice.

He serves as the Director of the Structural Research Laboratory and a structural engineering lead of the multi-year M9 Project, a large National Science Foundation-sponsored interdisciplinary research project investigating the impact of magnitude 9 Cascade Subduction Zone earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest.  His research has advanced the understanding of how ground motion duration and ground motion frequency content impact buildings.  This has resulted in recommended design guidelines to improve the seismic safety of local buildings.

He has conducted research on the development of post-tensioned rocking cross-laminated timber wall systems as a potential lateral force resisting system for timber buildings up to 15 stories.   His experimental and computational studies have shown the viability of rocking cross-laminated timber walls for resisting seismic loads and providing structural-damage free performance in large earthquakes.  He also conducted research on the evaluation and retrofit of steel concentrically- braced frames designed prior to 1988.  Such frames may have deficiencies that inhibit ductile system behavior.  Through large-scale experiments and computational simulation, he and his colleagues have developed recommendations for evaluation and retrofit of such frames that are being incorporated into the national standard for seismic evaluation and retrofit of buildings.