Jonathan Stewart, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, was appointed to the University of California Seismic Advisory Board. The board is made up of eight independent geotechnical and structural engineers who advise the University of California on the seismic design, performance ratings and rehabilitation of its facilities. Additional responsibilities include assessing seismic risk, advising seismic priorities and providing policy revision recommendations.
Stewart’s technical expertise is in geotechnical earthquake engineering and engineering seismology, specializing in seismic soil-structure interaction, earthquake ground motion characterization, seismic ground failure and the seismic performance of earth structures, including structural fills and levee embankments.
His research has involved interpreting earthquake strong motion data to gain insight into soil-structure interaction effects, characterize site effects and produce practical models for the prediction of ground motion intensity measures. He has also conducted field testing of earth structures, drilled shafts and bridge abutments, as well as case history studies of the seismic field performance of infrastructure in California, Taiwan, Turkey, Japan, Greece, Italy and India. Results from Stewart’s research group have been widely used in seismic engineering practice.
Stewart also serves on several other advisory boards, including the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Provisions Update Committee, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Board of Directors, the National Seismic Hazards Mapping Program Steering Committee and the Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction.
