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Five new experts were appointed by Walter Copan, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to serve on the Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR) of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).
Established by the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, NEHRP is the federal government's program to reduce the risks to life and property from earthquakes. NEHRP consists of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and NIST, which serves as the lead agency.
In response to the 2004 and 2018 NEHRP reauthorization legislation, NIST established ACEHR to function solely as an advisory body, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
The five new ACEHR members are: Ann Bostrom, an environmental policy professor at the University of Washington; Robert Carey, a bureau chief at the Utah Division of Emergency Management; Anne Meltzer, a seismologist and professor at Lehigh University; Danielle Mieler, a sustainability and resilience manager for the City of Alameda, California; and Douglas Wiens, a geophysicist at the Washington University. They join a group of eight continuing ACEHR members, including experts from academia, industry and state and local governments.
ACEHR acts in the public interest to assess:
- trends and developments in the science and engineering of earthquake hazards reduction;
- the effectiveness of NEHRP in performing its statutory activities (fostering improved design and construction methods and practices; land use controls and redevelopment; prediction techniques and early-warning systems; coordinated emergency preparedness plans; and public education and involvement programs);
- any need to revise NEHRP; and,
- program management, coordination, implementation and activities.
More information on NEHRP and the ACEHR can be found at www.nehrp.gov.