The Applied Technology Council (ATC) is seeking a Technical Consultant to prepare a working electronic version of the loss calculation methodology being developed under ATC’s current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funded ATC-58 project.  The ATC-58 project is developing next-generation guidelines for performance-based seismic design of buildings, based on the FEMA-349 report, Action Plan for Performance-Based Seismic Design, which was developed by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute in 2000. 

In the next-generation performance-based design procedures, performance is measured in terms of the probability of incurring various earthquake-induced losses, i.e. casualties, direct economic losses, and downtime.  This process inherently incorporates many uncertainties relating to a lack of perfect knowledge of the characteristics of the building itself, the earthquake ground motions it may experience, the response of the building given the ground motions, the damage it will experience given the response, and the consequences of this damage with regard to repair cost, repair time and the risks to persons in the building at the time of the earthquake.  To properly account for these uncertainties, methods of structural reliability analysis and probabilistic loss evaluation are required. 

Working in cooperation with the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER), the project has developed a preliminary tool, using Monte Carlo analysis methods, to perform loss calculations.  The Technical Consultant will be expected to convert this tool, currently in MATLAB format, to a more commonly available software platform, and develop user-friendly interfaces for data input and formatted reports for output.  It is envisioned that input will include structural demands calculated using other software, descriptions of building construction and value, and fragility functions.  The tool will perform various statistical calculations related to structural reliability and probabilistic loss, and report aggregated and de-aggregated losses in a variety of formats.  The anticipated level of effort is approximately 200-400 hours, commencing in March 2006 and concluding in September 2006.  Additional assignments may be authorized in the future to expand and enhance this preliminary tool.

Work will be conducted under the direction of Craig Comartin, Risk Management Products Team Leader, and subject to review by the ATC-58 Project Management and Technical Committees.  The Technical Consultant should have the following qualifications and expertise:

1. Knowledge of nonlinear seismic analysis and probabilistic loss evaluation concepts;
2. Sufficient knowledge of MATLAB, Mathcad, Visual Basic, and Excel advanced computational features for the purpose of programming calculation algorithms in these platforms; and
3. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including experience in the development of technical reports for use by design professionals.

Applicants should submit a brief, but concise statement of qualifications containing a one-to-two-page summary of relevant qualifications and a brief resume (not to exceed four pages) by February 17, 2006 to: ATC-58 Project, Applied Technology Council, 201 Redwood Shores Parkway, Suite 240 , Redwood City , California 94065 .  Faxed or e-mailed submissions are acceptable (Fax, 650/593-2320; E-mail, atc@ATCouncil.org). Applicant should confirm receipt of application by ATC.