Applied Technology Council A Nonprofit Corporation Advancing Engineering Applications for Hazard Mitigation California - Washington, DC Area

Applied Technology Council Endowment Fund.

In 1989 the Applied Technology Council (ATC) established the Henry J. Degenkolb Memorial Endowment Fund, named in honor of a dedicated international leader in structural and earthquake engineering. The purpose of the fund is to support projects of critical importance to structural engineering design practice, but for which funds are not available from traditional funding soruces.

The goal of the ATC Board of Directors is to develop the ATC Endowment Fund to a point where earnings are sufficient to support at least one significant project annually. As of December 31, 2002, the fund contained $281,062.

The Fund is used to provide financial support for projects in the following categories:

1. Small Research Projects. To qualify for funding as a small research project, the research must yield results that are useful to a significant segment of the structural engineering profession and must be accomplished with funding not to exceed $10,000 (1995 dollars). Research topics are solicited from Structural Engineers Associations nationwide and are approved by the ATC Executive and Endowment Committees. Guidance and overview are provided by advisory Project Engineering Panels, consisting of leading specialists from the structural engineering profession and from the academic community. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of small research project reports is returned to the ATC Endowment Fund. To date, ATC has completed one Small Research Project:

    

   ATC-R-1, Cyclic Testing of Narrow Plywood Shear Walls (published 1995; 64 pages). This small research project, conducted at the University of California at Irvine, consisted of a series of static and dynamic tests of narrow plywood wall panels. The study, initiated in 1993, was based on the recommendation of members of the Structural Engineers Association of California, who were concerned about the strength and deflection characteristics of narrow plywood wall panels exposed to seismic forces. The ATC-R-1 report describes the testing program and summarizes the results, including comparisons of drift ratios found during testing with those specified in the seismic provisions of the 1991 Uniform Building Code, the code in effect at the time the project commenced. The report served as a catalyst for changes in code-specified aspect ratios for narrow plywood wall panels and for new thinking in the design of hold-down devices. It also stimulated widespread interest in laboratory testing of wood-frame structures.

    

2. ATC Design Guides. ATC Design Guides are a newly initiated series of reports that present succinct, state-of-the-art information on important design issues for the practicing structural engineer profession. The documents are developed by leading specialists in specific areas of concern, working under the review and guidance of an advisory Project Engineering Panel. The budget to develop and produce a typical ATC Design Guide ranges from $5,000 to $10,000 (1999 dollars). Topics are selected by the ATC Board of Directors, based on recommendations from the ATC Design Guide Committee. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of ATC Design Guides is returned to the ATC Endowment Fund. To date, ATC has published one ATC Design Guide and several others are in the development stage:

    

   ATC Design Guide 1, Minimizing Floor Vibration (published 1999, 64 pages). This first ATC Design Guide provides guidance on design and retrofit of floor structures to limit transient vibrations to acceptable levels. The document includes guidance for estimating floor vibration properties and includes example calculations for a variety of currently used floor types and designs. The criteria for acceptable levels of floor vibration are based on human sensitivity to the vibration, whether it is caused by human behavior or machinery in the structure.

    

3. Selected Engineering Applications for Natural Hazard Reduction. The ATC Endowment Fund provides partial support, sometimes in the form of seed money, to develop selected engineering applications for natural hazard mitigation. Such activities are supported by the Fund when (1) funds cannot be obtained from traditional government agency funding sources in a timely manner and (2) the Endowment Committee believes the project is of critical importance in meeting the goals of ATC. Recommendations for projects in this category are initiated by the ATC Executive Director and require approval of the ATC Endowment Committee. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of such engineering applications is returned to the ATC Endowment Fund. To date, the Fund has supported the development of one engineering application:

    

   ATC-45, Procedures for Safety Evaluation of Buildings After Wind Storms and Floods (in preparation). The purpose of the ATC-45 project is to develop procedures for evaluating the safety of buildings after wind storms and floods and to document the procedures in an easy-to-use field manual. The procedures are based on those developed for the U. S. Postal Service (USPS) under the ATC-26 project in the early 1990s, but are applicable to all building types (not only those owned or occupied by the USPS). The ATC-45 project report will include the new placards, forms, and concepts presented in the ATC-20-2 report, Addendum to the ATC-20 Postearthquake Building Safety Evaluation Procedures, which was published in 1995. Preliminary results from the ATC-45 project were presented in a series of seminars in Hawaii in October, 1999. The ATC-45 project is supported in part by the Institute for Business and Home Safety.

ATC Endowment Fund Donor Levels & Benefits

Effective January 1, 1998, the ATC Board established several levels of participation and benefits, as follows:

Sponsor: Contributions of $10,000 or More

Individuals or organizations are recognized as Sponsors in newly published ATC reports, are listed as donors on ATC's web site, are invited to participate in selection of projects supported by the ATC Endowment Fund, and are provided with one copy of all past and future ATC reports (for life, if an individual; for 15 years, if an organization).

Supporter: Contributions of $5,000 - $9,999

Individuals or organizations are recognized as Supporters in newly published ATC reports, are listed as donors on ATC's web site, and are provided with one copy of all past and future ATC reports, for 10 years.

Contributor: Contributions of $2,000 - $4,999

Individuals or organizations are recognized as Contributors in newly published ATC reports, are listed as donors on ATC's web site, and are provided with one copy of all future ATC reports, for 5 years.

Note: Applied Technology Council is a California corporation exempt from federal and state income taxes under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations to the ATC Endowment Fund may be tax deductible. (Consult your tax advisor).

Persons interested in donating to the ATC Endowment Fund can do so by sending a check, payable to the ATC Endowment Fund, to:

Applied Technology Council
201 Redwood Shores Parkway, Suite 240
Redwood City, CA 94065

Donations may also be made by VISA or MasterCard by contacting ATC (phone, 650/595-1542; fax, 650/593-2320; e-mail, atc@atcouncil.org).

			Comments or suggestions are welcome: webmaster@atcouncil.org
					Information on how to read our PDF documents