Involvement in research, technical committees, and professional organizations enables R&C engineers to remain on the cutting edge of the profession. To learn more about R&C's efforts in this regard, please explore R&D at R&C.

Project-Driven Research

Testing of Innovative Structural Walls for Frank Lloyd Wright's Hanna House
To seismically strengthen Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hanna House while preserving its landmark architecture, Rutherford & Chekene developed a creative strengthening scheme that involved inserting new plywood, steel, and wood screws into a ¾” space within the existing walls. R&C supervised experimental testing in an independent testing lab to verify the structural properties of this assembly. For more information about this project, please see the Retrofits section under Project Gallery.

Testing of Buckling-Restrained Braces for UC Berkeley Stanley Hall
Before incorporating Buckling-Restrained Braces into the seismic-resisting system for UC Berkeley’s new Stanley Hall, Rutherford & Chekene developed and supervised a program of experimental testing to demonstrate the favorable seismic performance characteristics of this new technology. For more information about this project, please see the Stanley Hall project description under Featured Buildings.

Probabilistic Seismic Assessment for PG&E Utility Buildings
Rutherford & Chekene tested and refined Advanced Seismic Assessment Guidelines, developed at Stanford University, in performing seismic evaluations of seven buildings within Pacific Gas & Electric’s utility network. R&C used this probability-based methodology to produce structure fragility curves for post-earthquake occupancy classifications of interest to PG&E: Green Tag, Yellow Tag, and Red Tag. To read R&C’s PEER report on this methodology, please see Selected Publications.

Building Information Modeling (BIM)
Building Information Modeling is a developing technology that facilitates efficient coordination between architects, engineers, and others involved in the building design and construction process. Rutherford & Chekene is a leader in the application of BIM tools and improving the effectiveness of these this technology in the design profession. For more information, please see BIM under How We Work.

Applied Research

Rutherford & Chekene participates in many applied projects funded by organizations such as the Applied Technology Council (ATC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), California Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering (CUREE), and Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center, which aim to advance the practice of structural engineering by bringing research results into the professional realm. A sample of R&C’s participation in such projects is listed below:

Mark Saunders and Bill Holmes have each served as President of ATC. Rich Niewiarowski was a Co-Principal Director of the ATC-40 project on Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Concrete Buildings.

In the SAC Steel Project (a joint venture between SEAOC, ATC, and CUREE), which produced FEMA 350: Recommended Seismic Design Criteria for New Steel Moment Frame Buildings, Mark Saunders was the Lead Guidelines Writer for New Buildings, and Bill Holmes was the Chair of the Joint Venture Management Committee.

Bill Holmes was Senior Technical Advisor for FEMA 273: Guidelines for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings, and he was a member of the Project Team for the subsequent document FEMA 356: Prestandard and Commentary for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings.

Bret Lizundia served as Project Manager and Editor, with Bill Holmes as Chair of the Technical Update Team, for FEMA 547: Techniques for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings.

Joe Maffei and Bret Lizundia are principal authors for the FEMA 306/307/308 documents on Evaluation of Earthquake Damaged Concrete and Masonry Wall Buildings (ATC-43 project).

Dominic Campi serves as the Expert Structural Engineer on the ATC-56 project to produce a Primer for Design of New Buildings to Mitigate Terrorist Acts.

In addition to funded efforts, R&C’s principals, senior staff, and young engineers play active roles in the engineering community through elected positions and volunteer efforts with the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC). R&C’s ranks include a number of current and past Presidents, Directors, and Committee Chairs of the organization:

Jamison Curry, Director
William Holmes, President, Director
Alan Kren, Treasurer, Continuing Ed, Sustainable Design
Bret Lizundia, Vice-President, Professional Activities
Walterio López, Steel
Richard Niewiarowski, Director, Existing Buildings
Peter Revelli, Director
Mark Saunders, President, Director, Seismology

Contributions to Building Codes & Standards

Experts from Rutherford & Chekene contribute to the development of building codes and standards through the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC), International Code Council (ICC), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Concrete Institute (ACI), and American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC).

Bill Holmes, Mark Saunders, and Joe Maffei are active members of the committees that produce the NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and Other Structures. This document forms the basis for seismic design provisions in ASCE/SEI 7: Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures and for the International Building Code (IBC). Bill Holmes has served as Chair of the NEHRP Provisions Update Committee.

Dominic Campi serves on the Lateral Force subcommittee of ASCE 7. He served on the SEAOC Seismology Committee from 1995 to 1997, which authored the SEAOC “Blue Book” seismic provisions that are the basis for the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC) seismic provisions.

Joe Maffei serves on the Seismic Subcommittee of ACI-318: Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary. This document was adopted by the Uniform Building Code (UBC) and referenced by the International Building Code (IBC). Joe is also an author of several seismic design guideline documents published through the Portland Cement Association (PCA), the Precast Concrete Institute (PCI), and the Federation Internationale du Beton (FIB).

Mark Saunders served as Vice Chair of AISC Task Committee 9, which authors the AISC Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings. Walterio López served as a Corresponding Member on this committee and also co-authored “Seismic Design of Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames,” published in Steel TIPS before this technology was introduced into the AISC Seismic Provisions.

Selected Publications

“Seismic Design of Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames” (download)
Walterio López and Rafael Sabelli
Steel TIPS, 2004

“Structural Engineering Strategies Towards Sustainable Design”
Grace Kang and Alan Kren
SEAONC, 2006

Test Applications of Advanced Seismic Assessment Guidelines
Joe Maffei, Karl Telleen, Danya Mohr, William Holmes, and Yuki Nakayama
PEER, 2006

FEMA 547: Techniques for Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings
William Holmes, Bret Lizundia, Kelly Cobeen, and James Malley
FEMA, 2006