Michael Valley - Engineer of the Year 2007

A highly visible member of the engineering community, at the time of his award Mike Valley had just completed his seventh year as chair of SEAW's Earthquake Engineering Committee. In this role he worked diligently to promote good building codes, and to represent SEAW before SEAW sister organizations such as SEAOC, as well as in the IBC, NEHRP, and SEI forums.

His recognized and visible volunteerism engaged him in the code development process, testimony before committees of the Washington state legislature, work on the Seattle Fault Scenario report, and countless technical presentations. His chairing the Earthquake Engineering Committee amounted to "almost a full time job" guiding the activities of 19 voting and 60 corresponding members. Under his leadership the EEC developed several Task Groups to address Geotechnical, Concrete, Light-framed Construction, and Existing Buildings issues. Mike has served as a writer and technical editor for several seismic design documents including FEMA 356, FEMA 450, FEMA 451, ASCE 7-05, ASCE 41, and the 2008 NEHRP Recommended Provisions and Commentary. He has also participated in several Applied Technology Council projects. As a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Committee for Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings Standards, Mike involved himself and his colleagues in the update and revision of an evaluation standard (ASCE 31) and a rehabilitation standard (ASCE 41).

Through his project experience and technical committee work, Mike has developed special expertise in seismic design, foundation analysis and design, and development of codes and standards. In addition to his work in developing performance-based seismic design approaches, he has applied those approaches to both new and existing construction, especially in situations requiring enhanced seismic performance, as for hospitals and other essential facilities. He designed essential facilities including Bellevue City Hall; the Seattle Command Center; and a new emergency department, ICU, and bed tower at Valley Medical Center.

Mike nurtures the engineers who work for him and helps them develop professionally and to appreciate the complexities of engineering design and code compliance; he also encourages younger engineers to participate in the activities of SEAW and its Earthquake Engineering Committee. In addition to providing one-on-one training and making in-house presentations, he has made formal presentations on seismic evaluation, rehabilitation, analysis, and design at dozens of seminars and conferences, some of which he also organized.

Posted March 2012

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