Earthquake expert to share research
with ASU College of Engineering

Sept. 18, 2007 -- Dr. Shahram Pezeshk, interim chair of the Department of Civil
Engineering at the University of Memphis, is scheduled to present "Seismic Issues in the Central United States" at Arkansas State University on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. in the Agriculture Building, Room 203.

Pezeshk is currently involved in a joint research project with Ashraf Elsayed, assistant professor of engineering at ASU, sponsored by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. The project is titled "Shear Wave Velocity Profile and Soil Liquefaction Hazard Analysis" and is a study of how the soil will behave during an
earthquake.

"The strong shaking can turn specific types of soil into a thick, viscous fluid that cannot carry any loads and can significantly impact bridge foundations," said Elsayed, "We are doing surface testing at 16 bridge sites and we will use the data to perform a liquefaction analysis to see how the soil will do under and around foundations of those 16 bridges."

Pezeshk is considered a national expert in the area of earthquake engineering and currently serves on the advisory board on earthquake issues for the governor of Tennessee.
 

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