CFS-NHERI Project Update

The CFS-NHERI capstone building test program, coined CFS10, is a full-scale 10-story, cold-formed steel (CFS) framed building program planned for seismic testing under increasing, multi-directional earthquake motion intensity and subsequent live fire testing at the NHERI 6-DOF Large High-Performance Outdoor Shake Table (LHPOST6) facility at the University of California San Diego.

The CFS10 collaboration follows on successful system-level 2-story (CFS-NEES) and 6-story (CFS-HUD) efforts of the team. The new CFS10 test program will push the limits of CFS-framed construction — with the building height beyond current ASCE 7 limits and a wide range of construction techniques utilized within one specimen, including stick-framing, panelization, and modular construction. CFS10 is poised to generate valuable knowledge, accruing benefits not just for CFS-framed systems, but for all systems, through improvements in design standards such as ASCE 7, AISI S400 and construction handbooks.

Tara C. Hutchinson, P.E., Ph.D.
University of California, San Diego

Tara C. Hutchinson is a Professor in the Department of Structural Engineering at the University of California, San Diego with research interests in geotechnical, structural and earthquake engineering. Much of her efforts involve large-scale shake table and fixed reaction-type experimentation. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that underlie the response of components of civil infrastructure during earthquakes and developing techniques to enhance their performance and hence reduce damage.

Professor Hutchinson obtained her Ph.D. in 2001 at UC Davis and M.S. in 1995 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Prior to her current appointment at UC San Diego, she served on the faculty at the University of California, Irvine until 2007. Professor Hutchinson is active in her service contributions, serving on the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Board of Directors, the Earthquake Spectra and ASCE Journal of Architectural Engineering editorial boards, to name a few.  

She has received awards for her contributions in teaching and research, including the Excellence in Undergraduate Education Award, the National Science Foundation Career Award, the Shamsher Prakash Research Award and the Western Seismic Safety Council Research Excellence Award to name a few. Her contributions are disseminated in more than 140 journal papers, 170 conference papers and 80 technical reports.