Gregory G. Deierlein, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, NAE, director of the J.A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center at Stanford University, has been honored with inclusion by ASCE in its 2019 class of Distinguished Members for major contributions to advancing the state of the art in computational and experimental methods for nonlinear structural performance assessment, characterization of structural material and component behavior, fracture and stability of steel structures, performance-based engineering, and community resilience for earthquakes and other hazards.
Deierlein is well-known for his research on steel and concrete composite structural systems and beam-to-column connections. He has developed and written provisions and guidelines for the design of composite structures that have been adopted by the American Institute of Steel Construction and the Building Seismic Safety Council and the International Building Code.
One of his standout contributions was his instrumental role in the development of the Structural Stability Research Council Guide to Stability of Metal Structure and the AISC’s Direct Analysis provision on the stability design of steel-frame structures. He is also noted for the innovative concept of the rocking frame system with replaceable fuses for earthquake-resistant design. Unlike conventional systems, the steel-braced rocking frame actually rocks up and down at the base under large earthquakes but is restored and properly aligned vertically with high-strength steel cables. This research was recognized with many high-profile awards, including Engineering News-Record’s 2010 Top 25 Newsmakers, Popular Mechanics’ 2010 Breakthrough Award, and ASCE’s Moisseiff Award.
Before his time with Stanford, Deierlein was with Pacific Earthquake Engineering Center. He has directed research projects funded by the National Science Foundation, Pankow Foundation, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Applied Technology Council, California Earthquake Authority, and others. In 2013 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for development of advanced structural analysis and design techniques and their design-code implementation.
Deierlein, besides his activity with ASCE, is a member of AISC, ATC (Board of Directors 2002-08), BSSC (Provision Update Committee 1991-97), EERI (Board of Directors 2016-present), and Structural Engineers Association of California, among others. His currently sits on the Governance Board for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation. He has produced over 75 journal articles, chapters in three books, and more than 150 papers for conference proceedings and technical reports.
His awards and honors number 34. Some of these are the 1991 and 2003 ASCE Raymond C. Reese Research Prize, the 1994, 2002, and 2008 ASCE Norman Medal, the 1995 and 2000 ASCE State-of-the-Art Award, ASCE’s 2000 Huber Research Prize, AISC’s 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award, and ASCE’s Shortridge Hardesty Award.
He serves on committees to include the ATC and AISC Specification Committee, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, NIST NEHRP, NSF-NEES, AISC-SSRC, BSSC, SSRC Task Group 4, ASCE, USGS-ANSS, and the editorial board of Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics.
Deierlein has his Ph.D. in structural engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and his M.S. before that from University of California, Berkeley. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of New York.
