Filiatrault author of Most Influential Paper in international journal

By Peter Murphy

Published June 20, 2017 This content is archived.

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Andre Filiatrault.

Andre Filiatrault received recognition from the Journal of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration for 2014 paper he co-authored.

“This award recognizes Andre's influence in the earthquake engineering community. His contributions continue to position the department and MCEER as innovators in earthquake engineering research. ”
Joseph Atkinson, Professor and Chair
Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

Andre Filiatrault, a professor in UB’s Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering received the “Most Influential Paper Award” for an article he co-authored in the Journal of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration (EEEV).

EEEV promotes scientific research exchange between engineers and scientists around the world. It was founded in 2002 by Samuel Capen Professor Emeritus George C. Lee and former director of MCEER with colleagues at the Institute of Engineering Mechanics, the China Earthquake Administration, to promote scientific exchange in the theory and practice of earthquake hazard mitigation, preparedness and recovery between scholars in China, the U.S. and throughout the world. It is the only English-language journal published in English in China.

Filiatrault’s is one of only two papers published in recent years to be selected by the journal’s panels of experts. The paper, entitled Performance-based seismic design of nonstructural building components: The next frontier of earthquake engineering, was co-authored by Filiatrault and his colleague, then at the University of Pavia, Italy, now at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, Timothy Sullivan, and was published in August 2014.

The paper presents a state-of-the-art summary on the seismic design and analysis of nonstructural building components. Even if a building is structurally sound, and able to withstand a seismic event, failure of architectural, mechanical or electrical components can become a safety hazard and impede the ability of exit or rescue. Filiatrault and Sullivan summarize the current research on nonstructural components, identify knowledge gaps to be filled in with research, and explore how current performance-based seismic design could be applied to nonstructural components. 

“This award recognizes Andre's influence in the earthquake engineering community. His contributions continue to position the department and MCEER as innovators in earthquake engineering research,” said Joseph Atkinson, professor and chair of the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering.

Filiatrault joined UB in 2003. His research includes structural and earthquake engineering, with a particular interest in nonstructural components of buildings. Filiatrault is the former director of MCEER and the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL), originally part of the George E. Brown Jr. Network of Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), sponsored by the National Science Foundation.