About the Center

The Mid-America Earthquake Center is one of three national earthquake engineering research centers established by the National Science Foundation and its partner institutions.

The MAE Center, headquartered at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, consists of a consortium of nine core institutions, and is funded by NSF and each core university as well as through joint collaborative projects with industry and other affiliations.

Center projects fall under four general types: (a) core research, (b) stakeholder research, (c) education and (d) outreach.

Core research is separated into four thrust areas. The four thrust areas are (a) Consequence-based Risk Management Framework (b) Engineering Engines, (c) Social and Economic Sciences, and (d) Information Technology. A thrust leader for each of these four programs is responsible for the planning and execution of research and implementation projects.

Targeted stakeholder groups apply core research results to earthquake risk mitigation across the systems of interest to them. The targeted stakeholder groups include a diverse portfolio of interests such as state transportation departments, state emergency management agencies and utilities operators.

Projects in the Education Program integrate research and education for both undergraduate and graduate students, advance earthquake curricula and outreach to pre-college students, and enhance public awareness.

Annual project agendas are developed by a Leadership Team chaired by the Center Director and consisting of program thrust leaders and co-leaders. Overall direction and goals of the Center are set by the Executive Advisory Board, which also approves the annual project agenda as proposed by the Leadership Team. In addition, the Industrial/Stakeholder Advisory provides guidance on future direction and opportunities for the Center.