ASCE has honored Misko Cubrinovski, Ph.D., with the 2019 Ralph B. Peck Award for outstanding contributions to the geotechnical engineering profession through the publication of several insightful field case histories, including Cubrinovski and Robinson’s “Lateral Spreading: Evidence and Interpretation from the 2010-2011 Christchurch Earthquakes,” Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (2016).
Over the years, Cubrinovski has been a prolific researcher who has made significant contributions to our understanding in a number of areas pertinent to geotechnical earthquake engineering. He has done seminal work on field-based, laboratory, and analytical studies related to triggering and consequences of liquefaction. The two earthquakes affecting Christchurch in 2010 and in 2011 have been his vast “laboratory,” and he and his colleagues from New Zealand, USA, and other countries have made long strides toward a greater understanding of both triggering and the consequences of liquefaction. He has proven to be a competent leader and excellent collaborator in these efforts, also making excellent contributions in physical and numerical modeling, effects of liquefaction on pile foundation, and soil-foundation-structure interaction.
Cubrinovski’s research interests and expertise are in geotechnical earthquake engineering and in particular problems associated with liquefaction, seismic response of earth structures, and soil-structure interaction. He has authored or co-authored over 300 technical publications and worked as a geotechnical specialist and advisor on over 50 significant engineering projects. His honors include the 2018 NZGS Geomechanics Lecture Award, 2016 Norman Medal (ASCE), 2014 Outstanding Paper Awards from ASCE and EERI, NZGS Geomechanics Award, Ivan Skinner Award, and ANZ Joint Societies Award. He is a faculty of the Rose School, Pavia, Italy, and Fellow of the University of Tokyo.
He holds a B.Sc. in civil engineering (Ss. CM, Skopje, Macedonia), an M.Sc. in earthquake engineering (IEEES, Skopje, Macedonia), and a Ph.D. in geotechnical engineering (from the University of Tokyo, Japan, 1993). His career involves 35 years of work in academia and the profession, including seven years in Macedonia, 15 years in Japan, and 13 years in New Zealand.
The Ralph B. Peck Award is presented for outstanding contributions to the geotechnical engineering profession through the publication of a thoughtful, carefully researched case history or histories, or the publication of recommended practices or design methodologies based on the evaluation of case histories.
