Members of a national earthquake simulation research network are at the University of Nevada, Reno today and tomorrow for Quake Summit 2013, an annual scientific meeting highlighting engineering research that reduces  the impact of devastating earthquakes and tsunamis.

Titled "Earthquake & Multi-Hazards Resilience: Progress and Challenges," the annual summit of the 14- member  George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), of which the University is a member, is being held  in the Joe Crowley Student Union.

"Geared toward earthquake engineers, natural-hazards researchers, students and educators in these areas, Quake Summit 2013 features nearly 100 presentations on the latest research in earthquake engineering and multi-hazards resilience, much of it cutting-edge technique for engineers and scientists," said Julio Ramirez, NEES' chief officer and a civil engineering professor at Purdue University.

Quake Summit 2013 will feature plenary and concurrent technical sessions, as well as a research poster reception. Alongside research engineers, students in NEES's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program also will  report on their projects.

"It's an honor to host our colleagues from around the country," said Ian Buckle, civil engineering professor in the College of Engineering and director of the earthquake engineering laboratories. "While many of them have seen  our experiments online or watched  our live webcasts  on large-scale bridges and buildings, they will now be able to tour our labs and see our facilities  first hand."

The event is expected to attract more than 300 experts and students from throughout the country and internationally. The earthquake engineering laboratory at the University will be featured in the conference. It is the home of the NEES@UNR, a shared-use laboratory with multiple shake tables that can be used separately or in combination for research on long, spatially distributed structural and geotechnical systems.

 For a detailed program of the speakers and their presentations, visit https://nees.org/quakesummit2013. For more information on the University's role in the NEES network, visit NEES@Nevada