Press Release Archive

Learning about earthquakes and research as part of NSF's Research Experience for Undergraduates program

September 5, 2024

One had never done research before. The other had eight months of research experience. They both are learning a lot this summer during the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates program. Emersen Liauw and Leah Seifert are working at UC San Diego’s NSF-funded earthquake simulator, also known as a shake table, one of the three largest in the world and the only outdoor facility of its kind. Full Story

Inside the Largest Outdoor Earthquake Simulator in the World

June 13, 2023

We’re taking you underground and inside the largest outdoor earthquake simulator in the world. You’re about to learn how this high-performance shake table is powered and equipped with smart-control technology that can simulate the most devastating earthquakes in modern history.  Full Story

Tallwood tests UC San Diego Shake Table media day May 9 2023

May 8, 2023

Links for Tallwood Project media day.  Full Story

Tallest full-scale building ever built on an earthquake simulator put to the test at UC San Diego this spring

April 5, 2023

A 10-story building made of cross-laminated timber will be tested on one of the world’s two largest earthquake simulators at the University of California San Diego this spring. Known as the Tallwood project, it is the tallest full-scale building ever to be constructed and tested on an earthquake simulator, or shake table. The tests are scheduled to start in late April. Full Story

University of California researchers work to learn from Turkey quake

February 15, 2023

Teams of researchers from California are heading to Turkey and Syria to survey the damage from last week's 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Much of the data collected will be shared with scientists and engineers at some of University of California campuses. UC San Diego will use the data in its "shake table" project. Full Story

2022 Research Highlights

December 20, 2022

From tools to track the origin and spread of COVID-19, to making homes safer in earthquakes, to using smartphones as diagnostic tools, researchers at the Jacobs School of Engineering pioneered important work in 2022. A few highlights of our outstanding research this year are here. Full Story

A big machine for earthquake safety reopens at UC San Diego

July 20, 2022

The NSF director visited and inaugurated the UC San Diego earthquake simulator, one of the two largest in the world.   Full Story

World's largest outdoor earthquake simulator undergoes major upgrade

June 9, 2021

A major upgrade to the world’s largest outdoor earthquake simulator reached a milestone mid-April when the facility’s floor--all 300,000 lbs of it--was put back into place. When completed this fall, the simulator will have the ability to reproduce multi-dimensional earthquake motions with unprecedented accuracy to make structures and their residents safer during strong shakes.   Full Story

Major Upgrade Under Way at the World's Largest Outdoor Shake Table

December 14, 2020

Earlier this year in San Diego, two giant cranes lifted the 330,000 lb. steel  floor, or platen, off the world’s largest outdoor shake table, revealing a complex network of pipes, wires and catwalks. This was the first step in a major $16.3 million upgrade to the seismic simulator funded by the National Science Foundation. Over the next 10 months, the facility will undergo major construction. When completed in October 2021, the shake table will be able to reproduce multi-dimensional earthquake motions with unprecedented accuracy.   Full Story

Joel Conte Named to the Eric and Johanna Reissner Chair for Structural Engineering

June 2, 2020

Structural engineering professor Joel Conte was named to the Eric and Johanna Reissner Chair in the Department of Structural Engineering at UC San Diego. Conte is the principal investigator for the operation and maintenance of the world’s largest outdoor shake table located at the UC San Diego Englekirk Structural Engineering Center at the University of California San Diego. The facility, which is also the second  largest shake table in the world overall,  is currently undergoing a major upgrade funded by the National Science Foundation. Once upgraded, the shake table will be able to reproduce all six components of ground motions experienced during earthquakes. Conte is the principal investigator on the $16.3 million upgrade grant.   Full Story

UC San Diego at Epicenter of Earthquake Research

October 21, 2019

From the world’s largest outdoor earthquake simulator to an international network of seismic stations, UC San Diego is a living laboratory for seismic safety. Researchers across campus are trying to improve the understanding and detection of earthquakes; provide immediate information about damages sustained after an event; and improve the safety of structures to better withstand major earthquakes.  Full Story

World's largest outdoor shake table receives $16.3M from NSF for upgrades

October 15, 2018

The world’s largest outdoor earthquake simulator, operated by structural engineers at the University of California San Diego, has received a $16.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to upgrade the facility to expand its testing capabilities. The funds will enable the simulator, also commonly known as a shake table, to more realistically recreate the motion of the ground during strong earthquakes.  Full Story

Earthquake Shake Tests at UC San Diego Toward 20-story Earthquake-safe Buildings Made from Wood

July 18, 2017

Engineering researchers are putting a two-story wooden structure through a series of powerful earthquake simulations at the University of California San Diego shake table this week. The goal is to gather the data required to design wood buildings as tall as 20 stories that do not suffer significant damage during large earthquakes. Full Story

Shake, Burn and Learn

December 20, 2016

On a recent afternoon, two Jacobs School engineers equipped with 3D glasses stood in front of a towering 12’ digital reproduction of a six-story building, projected onto a curved wall of screens. They had tested the building a few weeks before, putting its light-weight steel frame through a series of increasingly powerful earthquake and fire tests on the world’s largest outdoor shake table at UC San Diego. Now researchers were zooming in and out of the building’s digital twin to assess damage. Full Story

WPI to Conduct Fire Tests Aimed at Better Understanding Post-Earthquake Fires in Cold-Formed Steel Buildings

June 28, 2016

A team of researchers from the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) will be conducting burn tests aimed at better understanding the effects of post-earthquake fires on cold-formed steel-framed buildings and assessing various methods for preventing appliances and broken gas mains from igniting fires during quakes.  Full Story

Six-story steel frame building undergoes seismic and fire testing on world's largest outdoor shake table

June 13, 2016

A team of engineers is testing a six-story, lightweight steel-frame building on the world’s largest outdoor seismic shake table this month at the University of California San Diego. The goal is to better understand how cold-formed steel structures withstand earthquakes and the fires that may follow. This is the tallest cold-formed steel-frame structure to ever undergo tests on a shake table.  Full Story

World's largest outdoor shake table gets $5.2 million from National Science Foundation

September 24, 2015

The University of California at San Diego has received a $5.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to run the world’s largest outdoor shake table for the next five years. The table, which can carry structures weighing up to 2,000 tons, can replicate the ground motions of most of the world’s largest earthquakes. It has been used since 2004 as a resource for NSF-funded researchers from around the nation to test innovative technologies and designs for seismic safety of new buildings and retrofitting techniques for existing structures.  Full Story

Structural seismic design expert Nigel Priestley dies

January 6, 2015

Nigel Priestley, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Structural Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, passed away peacefully on Tuesday Dec. 23 in Christchurch, New Zealand, surrounded by his wife, Jan, and children, after a long battle with cancer. Full Story

UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Launches Center for Extreme Events Research

December 19, 2014

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have launched a new center of excellence focused on developing better ways to protect buildings, bridges, dams and the rest of the built infrastructure, as well as the human body, from extreme events such as blasts from terrorist attacks, mining explosions, car crashes, sports collisions and natural disasters such as landslides and earthquakes.  Full Story

Learning by Shaking

December 3, 2013

Over the past seven years, more than 7,000 sixth-graders from 26 schools in San Diego County built their own structures and got to test them on small shake tables at the Jacobs School of Engineering. It’s all part of the Earthquake Engineering with K’NEX Outreach Program run by the UC San Diego chapter of the Society of Civil and Structural Engineers. Full Story

UC San Diego Shake Table, Robot Win Best of What's New Awards from Popular Science

November 13, 2013

The biggest outdoor shake table in the world and a robot designed to move along utility lines have received Best of What’s New awards from Popular Science, the world’s largest science and technology magazine. The two projects are featured in the magazine’s December issue, now on newsstands. Full Story

Rocketing Ahead

November 1, 2013

On a hot Saturday afternoon in the Mojave Desert, a team of UC San Diego engineering students huddled in a small underground bunker and watched quietly as the rocket engine they had designed over the past eight months flared to life on a test platform. As a jet of rocket fuel sprang out of the engine at supersonic speed, the students cheered loudly.The test by the UC San Diego chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) marked the first time that a university-led group had successfully designed, built and tested a 3-D-printed rocket engine, according to Space.com. Full Story

Team Investigates Earthquake Retrofits for 'Soft' First-floor Buildings on Jacobs School Shake Table

August 13, 2013

A team of researchers, led by Colorado State University engineering professor John van de Lindt, has spent the last month shaking a four-story building on the world’s largest outdoor shake table at the University of California, San Diego, to learn how to make structures with first-floor garages better withstand seismic shocks. Full Story

Engineers Conduct Seismic Tests on a Five-story Building Equipped with a Wide Range of Nonstructural Components

May 14, 2012

Researchers at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego will put a five-story building, fully equipped with an intensive care unit, a surgery suite, a working elevator, piping and air conditioning and fire barriers through a motion from  the 7.9-magnitude Denali earthquake which occurred in Alaska. These tests are the second of two phases of seismic motion testing. The first phase involved isolating the building with large rubber dampers, while for tests tomorrow the building’s foundation will be anchored directly on the shake table. These tests will likely result in more severe damage to the structure and its contents. Full Story

This Hospital is Wired for Earthquake Safety

April 5, 2012

At the UCSD-NEES site, earthquake and post-earthquake fire testing of a five-story building built at full-scale and completely furnished with nonstructural components and systems (NCSs) is underway. Unique to any building testing ever conducted, NCSs in the building include a functioning passenger elevator, partition walls, cladding systems, piping, HVAC, ceiling, sprinklers, building contents, as well as passive and active fire systems. Testing is planned for mid-April through May 2012. Full Story

UC San Diego Engineers Lead National Effort to Save Lives and Buildings During Earthquakes

January 7, 2011

Earthquake engineers from UC San Diego, University of Texas at Austin and Washington State University are joining efforts to make buildings such as hotels, schools, apartments and hospitals safer. To do this, the researchers will put a three-story masonry structure with shear walls systems through a series of rigorous earthquakes beginning Jan. 10. Full Story

UC San Diego Engineers Advance Seismic Safety and NextGen NanoSensors

July 16, 2010

In between spring and fall quarters, engineering professors at  UC San Diego are working to keep society safe, healthy and on the leading edge of smart technologies through a variety of research projects – from keeping buildings earthquake safe to enhancing heart surgery for children and developing the next generation of nano sensors.   Full Story

Engineers Help Secure California Highways and Roads

December 10, 2009

Engineers at the UC San Diego Englekirk Structural Engineering Center, which has the largest outdoor shake table in the United States, recently tested the seismic response of a semi-gravity reinforced concrete retaining wall. Full Story

UCSD Part of $105 Million NSF Earthquake Engineering Center Led by Purdue

September 14, 2009

Purdue University will tap into UC San Diego's structural engineering expertise as part of a $105 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create a center that will serve as headquarters for the operations of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation, or NEES. Full Story

UCSD Engineers to Shake Historic Masonry Building During Strong Simulated Earthquakes

July 8, 2009

  UC San Diego  researchers will be shaking a  three-story, 1920s era masonry building on the world’s largest outdoor shake table during a series of simulated earthquakes ranging from about 5.0-7.0 in magnitude on Thursday, July 9. Full Story

One-Story Masonry Building Survives Strong Jolts During UC San Diego Seismic Tests

April 14, 2009

A one-story structure survived two days of intense earthquake jolts after engineering researchers at the University of California, San Diego put it to the test. Full Story

Engineers Try to Bring Down the House During Simulated Earthquake Tests

February 2, 2009

Engineers at the University of California at San Diego put a single-story house to the test on January 26 via a series of strong simulated earthquake shakes. Full Story

UC San Diego Engineers Work to Make Historic Buildings Safer During Strong Earthquakes

November 25, 2008

Recent simulated earthquake tests conducted by UC San Diego engineers are expected to lead to retrofit schemes that make historic buildings safer. The structural engineers tested a structure similar to those that were built in California in the 1920s that have masonry-infilled walls and reinforced concrete frames. Full Story

Structural Engineers and Computer Scientists Hope to Integrate Disciplines to 'Revolutionize Building Construction'

October 2, 2008

A  group of UC San Diego engineers and computer scientists, together with their counterparts at Germany's Bauhaus University of Weimar, are hoping to completely reform the way buildings are constructed by integrating the two fields and bringing data visualization and online collaboration to the fore of structural design. Full Story

UC San Diego Engineers Part of Nationwide Effort to Make Buildings Earthquake Safe

August 20, 2008

Engineering researchers from UC San Diego and the University of Arizona have concluded three months of rigorous earthquake simulation tests on a half-scale three-story structure, and will now begin sifting through their results so they can be used in the future designs of buildings across the nation. Full Story

Three-Story Structure Slammed in Magnitude 8 Earthquake on Shake Table

May 7, 2008

Engineering researchers are subjecting a three-story structure resembling a parking garage to a sequence of earthquake "shake test" jolts as powerful as magnitude 8.0 as part of a series of seismic tests to help improve building codes across the nation. Full Story

Making Buildings Safer from Nonstructural Earthquake Damage

September 25, 2007

NSF's Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation has awarded a $3.6 million grant to study the seismic performance of nonstructural ceiling-piping-partition systems, with structural engineers at the Jacobs School and Calit2 participating in the multi-campus project. Full Story

Elementary School Shakeup -- with Engineering Help

March 26, 2007

More than 1,100 fifth- and sixth-grade students from schools in Escondido and Del Mar, CA, in March 2007 participated in a unique earthquake-safety competition organized by Philip Yu, a graduate student in the Jacobs School of Engineering’s Structural Engineering Department. Full Story

Engineers Announce Results of Second Northridge Shake of 7-Story Building

January 20, 2006

UCSD structural engineers announced that the most violent earthquake shake of a seven-story structure at the Jacobs School of Engineering's Englekirk Structural Engineering Center resulted in only minor cosmetic damage to the building. Full Story

Seven-Story Building at UCSD Rattled on Largest Earthquake Shake Table in U.S.

November 22, 2005

In a first-of-its-kind earthquake test, UCSD engineering researchers on Nov. 22 subjected a 275-ton, seven-story building to mechanical shakes that duplicated ground motions recorded during the Jan. 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake. Full Story

UCSD Structural Engineers Receive $7.5 Million Contract to Test Bomb Blast Mitigation Technologies

May 4, 2005

UCSD structural engineers together with a team of industry and university partners will develop and evaluate blast mitigation technologies to harden buildings and bridges against terrorist bomb attacks through a new $7.5 million federal contract.  More than 40 tests will be performed over the next two years in the new blast simulator laboratory at the Jacobs School's Englekirk Structural Research Center.  Full Story

Jacobs School Celebrates Opening of the Englekirk Structural Engineering Center

April 11, 2005

Industry supporters, government representatives, family, friends, faculty and students gathered April 7 to celebrate the dedication of the Englekirk Structural Engineering Center at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering.  The center is named in honor of Robert and Natalie Englekirk, who recently provided a $1.5 million gift for research and fellowships and scholarships for structural engineering students at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering. Full Story

UCSD Shakes 70-Ft.-Tall Wind Turbine In Real-Time Earthquake Demonstration of World's First Outdoor Shake Table

November 15, 2004

A 70-ft.-tall, 23,400-lb. wind turbine shook and shivered while it was subjected to historical ground motions from the 1992 magnitude 7.3 Landers earthquake, as the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Jacobs School of Engineering today demonstrated the unique capabilities of the world’s first outdoor shake table for testing full-scale buildings and structures.   Full Story

UCSD Receives Additional $4.4 Million Contract for Construction of Bomb Blast Simulator

May 5, 2004

San Diego , CA – May 5, 2004   The University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering has received a new $4.4 million federal contract for the bomb blast simulator now under construction at UCSD.   The Explosive Loading Laboratory Testing Program at UCSD is supported by the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), the federal interagency organization for combating terrorism.  The new contract brings TSWG’s total support for construction of the UCSD blast simulator to $8.6 million. Full Story