The Earthquake Engineering Research Centre of the University of Iceland was established in the year 2000 with a special contract between the University of Iceland, Ministry of education, Ministry of justice, Township of Árborg and the Civil Defence department of Iceland. The main operation of the EERC consists of basic research, contract research, training of students for research, and building facilities for engineering education. The EERC is a part of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering of University of Iceland and has been active in engineering seismology and earthquake engineering research in Iceland for more than two decades.
The research focus of EERC lies in earthquake ground motion monitoring and modelling, seismic hazard modelling and assessment, seismic design of structures, structural vibration monitoring, seismic risk reduction, community outreach and communication, and societal resilience to seismic risk. The EERC operates and maintains the only country-wide strong ground motion monitoring system in Iceland. It also monitors ground motion and structural vibrations of major infrastructures such as highway bridges and hydroelectric power plants in Iceland. In recent times, the EERC has enlarged its vibration monitoring scope to tall residential buildings and offices. The EERC is actively involved in understanding seismic risk in Iceland and communicating it to the public. In recent times, it has participated in different projects related to seismic risk to households and communicated effective mitigation strategies to different seismic risk to households and communicated effective mitigation strategies to different sectosectors of the public such as school children, home rs of the public such as school children, home and business owners, and otand business owners, and other her stakeholders such as engineers and technicians. The EERC stakeholders such as engineers and technicians. The EERC also provides service to the also provides service to the industry in seismic hazard and risk assessment for largeindustry in seismic hazard and risk assessment for large--scale projects. It scale projects. It iis currently a s currently a mmajor partner inajor partner in the SERICE projectthe SERICE project, which is a grant of excellence project funded by , which is a grant of excellence project funded by the Icelthe Icelandic Centre for Research (andic Centre for Research (www.rannis.iswww.rannis.is)). The aim of the SERICE project is to . The aim of the SERICE project is to advance scadvance scientific understanding of seismic risientific understanding of seismic risk in Ick in Iceland. eland.
