Central Chapter Dinner Meeting -

Improving Community Resilience and Advancing the Structural Engineering Profession

In an effort to support community resilience goals, the concept of improving post-earthquake recovery time of buildings through development of better building codes has received significant attention in the last 5+ years. Many stakeholders and industry groups like NCSEA, SEAOC, EERI, ATC, and ICC perspectives have been part of efforts underway through federal government agencies like FEMA, NIST, NIBS, and NEHRP. This presentation will provide an overview of recent and current efforts to: quantify post-earthquake recovery time expected from current code provisions; develop building code provisions that target functional recovery time in addition to basic safety; and identify and promote other topics and activities separate from new building design that are critical to improving post-earthquake recovery and community resilience: performance of lifeline infrastructure, adoption of retrofit ordinances, development of effective community planning policies, promotion of financial resources, engagement in public education/outreach, etc. In addition to the topic of functional recovery, this presentation will also provide updates on a number of other current NCSEA initiatives to advance the structural engineering profession.

Presented by Ryan Kersting, PE, SE

Ryan Kersting is a licensed Structural Engineer and Principal with Buehler Engineering in Sacramento, CA with over 25 years of experience in the structural engineering profession. Ryan is the 2023-24 president of the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations, is a former president of the Structural Engineers Association of California, and is a former member of the federal Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction. He was the chair of the committee that authored the FEMA-NIST Report to Congress on Functional Recovery and is currently serving as chair of the Functional Recovery Task Committee under the Provisions Update Committee working on the 2026 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions.

Please join us!