EERI@UND (Earthquake Engineering Research Institute) was founded by a group of Structural Engineering Graduate Students and was officially recognized as a student chapter of EERI in August of 1999. The organization was initiated for the two fold purpose of providing a professional organization with valuable technical resources for students interested in a career in structural or earthquake engineering while providing a means by which the Notre Dame community in general could learn more about the activities being undertaken in the fields of earthquake engineering. For additional information see: http://www.nd.edu/~eeriund

In addition to organizing visiting professionals and scholars in structural, geotechnical, and earthquake engineering to visit the Notre Dame community, one of the main focuses of the EERI@UND Student Chapter is community outreach. Every year EERI@UND participates in three nationally recognized by EERI community outreach activities:

Shakes & Quakes K-12 Outreach Program: Bringing Earthquakes to the Classroom

Shakes and Quakes is an outreach program designed to stimulate young minds and allow them to better understand the way in which civil engineering structures respond to severe earthquakes. EERI@UND visits local area classrooms and demonstrates building responses to earthquakes through the use of a portable shaking table. Students are asked to build LEGO and K'NEX models and these student designed buildings are tested on the shaking table to see how they respond under "real" earthquake ground motions.

Ms. Wizard Day: Exposing Young Girls to Science and Engineering

Ms. Wizard Day is an annual day of activities at the University of Notre Dame designed to encourage young girls to pursue careers in Science and Engineering. Members of EERI annually participate in the Career Fair with several interactive displays. The activities included a shake table demonstration where the girls could observe the behavior of K'nex buildings of their own design and reinforce concepts of period and resonance. A poster board display introduces basic concepts of Earthquake Hazards, Risk and Mitigation along with elementary dynamics concepts.

High School Bridge Activity: Linking Math & Engineering

This activity is designed to explore the use of basic calculus and algebra in engineering calculations and to overview the different levels of modeling available to engineers in the design process. In order to simulate a realistic engineering design office, the students work in teams. The Notre Dame EERI Student Chapter worked to develop an activity for a group of seniors in AP calculus at local high schools. The students were interested in learning more about how engineers use integration and other math tools in their professions.