Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering

A Berkeley Virtual Short Course Series 

January, February and March 2025 (LIVE) & Recorded

Where: Online via ZOOM platform

why this course SERIES

Berkeley pioneered many of the advances in geotechnical earthquake engineering over the last six decades in large part under the leadership of the late Professor H. Bolton Seed. The Berkeley Faculty continue to be leaders in developing concepts and procedures instrumental to advancing the field of geotechnical earthquake engineering. Key elements of Berkeley's highly rated Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering graduate course are being made available through this short course series. Similar short courses have been offered previously around the world, and they have been well received by practicing engineers, government regulators, and researchers.

This series of three short course focuses on key concepts and recent advances in geotechnical earthquake engineering. In the first short course module, engineering seismicity is reviewed with a focus on characterizing and selecting design ground motions. Seismic site response procedures, including evaluating dynamic soil properties, are discussed. In the second short course module, soil liquefaction is explored. Field and laboratory observations of the cyclic response of soils are discussed. Simplified liquefaction triggering procedures are presented. Focus is placed on the effects of liquefaction through evaluation of the residual shear strength of liquefied material and liquefaction-induced ground displacements and their effects on structures. Mitigation techniques are presented. In the third short course module, seismic considerations related to seismic slope stability, dams, levees, embankments and retaining systems are presented. Some example problems are solved to illustrate the primary issues involved in evaluating geotechnical earthquake hazards. Question and answer sessions provide opportunities to discuss selected concepts in greater detail. Each attendee will be given course notes that support the lectures.

 Instructors

Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos, PhD 

University of California at Berkeley (Lead Instructor)

Jonathan D. Bray, PhD, PE, NAE

University of California at Berkeley (Lead Instructor)

Dimitrios Zekkos, PhD, PE

University of California at Berkeley (Lead Instructor)

Norman Abrahamson, PhD, NAE

University of California at Berkeley (Instructor)

Robert Kayen, PhD, PE

USGS [retired] and University of California at Berkeley (Instructor) 

Nicholas Sitar, PhD, P. Eng

University of California at Berkeley (Instructor)

Thaleia Travasarou, PhD, PE, GE

Fugro

Course SERIES Objectives

Module 1 Course Objectives:

The objective of Module 1 is to present the State of the Art and Practice on seismic site response. Specific course objectives:


1. Considerations in conducting a DSHA and a PSHA

2. Considerations in ground motion selection and modification

3. Selection of dynamic soil properties and seismic site response analyses



Module 2 Course Objectives:


The objective of Module 2 is to present the State of the Art and Practice on soil liquefaction engineering. Specific course objectives:


1. Understand the state concept of soil response in drained and undrained shear under monotonic and cyclic loading

2. Perform liquefaction triggering assessments using state-of-the-practice tools and procedures and interpret the results

3. Evaluate the effects of soil liquefaction on the ground and structures



Module 3 Course Objectives:


The objective of Module 3 is to present the State of the Art and Practice on the seismic performance of Slopes and Earth Structures. Specific course objectives:


1. The seismic stability considerations for natural hillslopes and engineered earth slopes 

2. The seismic stability considerations for the seismic analyses of dams, tailings dams, levees and landfills

3. The seismic performance of retaining structures, the calculation of seismic earth pressures calculation and seismic displacement of walls

courses outline

MODULE 1, JANUARY 27-30, 2025: EARTHQUAKE GROUND MOTIONS & SEISMIC SITE RESPONSE

Part 1: Earthquake Ground Motions

Part 2:  Dynamic Properties

Part 3:  Site Response & Site Effects

MODULE 2, FEBRUARY 24-27, 2025: LIQUEFACTION ENGINEERING

Part 1: Soil Liquefaction & Triggering

Part 2: Evaluating Liquefaction Effects

MODULE 3, MARCH 17-20, 2025: SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF SLOPES AND EARTH STRUCTURES

Part 1: Seismic Performance of Slopes and Dams

Part 2: Levees and Waste Landfills

Part 3: Retaining Systems

Course CONTENT DELIVERY METHOD

By registering to any of the courses you can get the course content in two ways:

In addition, the courses include significant time for discussion and consultations in joint rooms and break-out rooms with the instructors. 

 DELIVERABLES

COURSE COST

The cost of each four half-day course is $985. A limited number of spots are available for students (with a 35% price reduction) after coordination with the short course leader. 

A 10% reduction in cost is provided for 3-4 registrations and a 20% off for 5+ registrations (if paid at the same time during course registration).

A 50% reduction in cost for the third module is provided to users that will register in all three modules (if paid at the same time during course registration).

Refund Policy: Course registration can be fully refunded based on requests made until two weeks before each short course. Specifically, until January 13, 2025 for the first module and the whole series, until February 10, 2025 for the second module, and until March 3 2025 for the third module.

COURSE REGISTRATION

Registration deadline is January 20, 2025 for the first module and the whole series, February 17, 2025 for the second module, and March 10, 2025 for the third module, unless the course becomes fully-booked earlier.

CONTACT

For questions related to this short course, please contact the short course leader Prof. Dimitrios Zekkos (zekkos@berkeley.edu)