Western Institute of Technology

College of Engineering
Civil Engineering Department
CE 435 – EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING
Technical Report No. 2 Reaction Paper

“MY REACTION PAPER TITLE”

Seismology is the science of earthquakes, study seismic waves that move through and around the
earth and alongside, the causes and effects from minute pulsations to the most catastrophic natural
phenomenon inside this planet. Earthquake Engineering is an interdisciplinary branch of civil engineering
that designs and analyzes structures, such as buildings and bridges, with earthquakes in mind and also a
multi-phased process that ranges from the description of earthquake sources, to characterization of site
effects and structural response, and to description of measures of seismic protection. Structural
Engineering is a specialty within the Civil Engineering with the task of creating drawings and
specifications, perform calculations, review the work of other engineers, write reports and evaluations,
and observe construction sites.

The above three mention fields are inter-related because they are all utilizing the data and records
produced when observing earthquakes. They are vital in civil engineering because of the objective in civil
engineering of providing the highest possible degree of safety for the infrastructures being built when
earthquakes occur. Earthquake engineering draws on the disciplines of structural engineering, structural
dynamics, seismology, materials engineering, geotechnical engineering, risk and decision analysis, and
probability and reliability theory to holistically address infrastructure performance in an uncertain seismic
future. With the data being submitted as product of seismology, earthquake engineering will have a two-
fold focus namely post-earthquake investigations of causative mechanisms resulting in structural damage,
failure, or collapse; and earthquake planning and risk mitigation, which includes identification,
quantification, and mitigation of risk through optimal repair strategies, performance-based upgrades, and
customized solutions. These design specifications will be then the basis of performing structural
engineering and will be integrated to the structure being built.

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