Welcome from the Secretary General

The International Association for Earthquake Engineering (IAEE) was established in February 1963 with its Central Office in Tokyo.

The IAEE aims to promote international cooperation among scientists and engineers in the field of earthquake engineering through interchange of knowledge, ideas, and results of research and practical experience.

The aim has been achieved mainly by holding the World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (WCEE) every four years. The most recent 14th WCEE was held in Beijing, China in 2008. The 14th WCEE attracted more than 3,100 participants from all over the world. And the 15th WCEE will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2012.

I believe that this web site will increase visibility and recognition of the IAEE within the global engineering and scientific communities as well as within non-technical communities.

- Dr. Manabu Yoshimura, Secretary General, IAEE

About Ruaumoko, the symbol of the IAEE

The Maori god of earthquakes and volcanoes, Ruaumoko, is the symbol of the IAEE. When the Third World Conference on Earthquake Engineering was held in New Zealand in 1965, Karl Steinbrugge, the president of IAEE then, visited the national museum, Te Papa, in Wellington, and saw a wood carving of Ruaumoko. He sought out Chief Maori Carver Charles Tuarau, and had a replica made, which Steinbrugge gave to Professor Robert Park of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, to keep on behalf of the IAEE. The carving was then taken from its home at the University to each World Conference of Earthquake Engineering and formally presented at the conference opening. That statue went missing in Beijing in 2008, and subsequently a replacement was carved by Master Carver Clive Fugill in 2009.