Dr. Hideki "Kit" Miyamoto (born 1963)[1] is a Japanese American structural engineer known for being the founder-CEO of Miyamoto International, a global structural engineering and disaster risk reduction organization.[4][5] He is also the chairman of California's Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, which investigates earthquakes and recommends policies for risk reduction.[6][7]
Miyamoto started his career in structural engineering[2] and later focused on disaster resiliency, response, and reconstruction.[9] He provides policy consultation to the World Bank, USAID, UN agencies, governments and private sector. He has led teams of professionals on response and reconstruction projects after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake,[1]2010 Haiti earthquake,[10][11]2011 Japan earthquake, 2015 Nepal earthquake,[12]2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes[13] and other seismic risk reduction programs along with disaster risk mitigation policy work.[14]
Miyamoto with journalist Anderson Cooper
Miyamoto was elected as a chair of the California Seismic Safety Commission in October 2020. He has formerly served as a seismic safety commissioner for eight years where he has advocated for increased resiliency in California.[15]
Innovations
Dr. Miyamoto was responsible for the seismic retrofit of the Theme Building, an iconic Space Age structure at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The innovative retrofit consisted of adding a tuned mass damper (TMD) to the top of the building's core. The TMD option was selected because it was less expensive, protected the building's architectural features, and minimized building closure.[16] This was the first time this retrofit had been achieved in the United States.[17]
Awards and recognitions
Publications
Haiti earthquake 2021: Findings from the repair and damage assessment of 179,800 buildings, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (2024)[27]
Seismic Risk Assessment and Retrofit of School Buildings In Developing Countries, 11th U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Los Angeles, California (2018)[28]
Seismic Collapse Probability of Structures with Viscous Dampers per ASCE 7–16: Effect of Large Earthquake, 11th U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Los Angeles, California (2018)[29]
Damage Assessment and Seismic Retrofit of Heritage and Modern Buildings in the Aftermath of 2015 Nepal Earthquake, 11th U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Los Angeles, California (2018)[30]
Design of Structures with Dampers per ASCE 7–16 and Performance for Large Earthquakes, Structures Congress, Houston, Texas (2018)[31]
Cost-Effective Seismic Isolation Retrofit of Heritage Cathedrals in Haiti, 16th World Conference on Earthquake, Santiago, Chile (2017)[32]
Transparent Global Earthquake Risk And Loss Estimation, Tokyo, Japan (2013)[33]
Media
Major media such as CNN,[34] LA Times,[35] NY Times[36] and Rolling Stone[37] have mentioned, represented, or interviewed him. He was also featured in the “Designing for Disaster” exhibit at the National Building Museum.[38]
References
^ a b cEmblin, Richard (August 14, 2017). "Miyamoto: Making Bogotá seismically more secure". The City Paper Bogotá.
^ a bvan der Meer, Ben (December 5, 2014). "H. Kit Miyamoto: Quake expert picks up the pieces". Sacramento Business Journal.
^Lin, Rong-Gong (October 4, 2017). "In this Mexican town broken by an earthquake, hope rises". Los Angeles Times.
^Staff (July 17, 2017). "Miyamoto brings its earthquake expertise to seismic Colombia". The City Paper Bogotá.
^Ashbrook, Tom (April 19, 2016). "Preparing For The Next Deadly Earthquake". www.wbur.org.
^Berardi, Erica (October 29, 2020). "Kit Miyamoto Is Named Chair of California's Seismic Safety Commission". Engineering News-Record.
^Fountain, Henry (March 25, 2011). "Extent of Damage to Japan's Infrastructure Still Unclear". The New York Times.
^Pardo, Daniela (June 4, 2018). "How prepared is Sacramento to receive evacuees after a natural disaster?". American Broadcasting Company 10.
^Reitman, Janet (August 4, 2011). "Beyond Relief: How the World Failed Haiti". Rolling Stone.
^Kurczy, Stephen (November 4, 2010). "Haiti's tent cities to bear worst of potential hurricane Tomas". Christian Science Monitor.
^Staff (November 30, 2015). "Miyamoto stresses on technology, change and modification". The Himalayan Times.
^Florido, Adrian (January 17, 2020). "Earthquake-Stricken Puerto Ricans Seek Engineers To Inspect The Safety Of Their Homes". WFAE.
^Malkin, Elisabeth (October 5, 2017). "In Mexico City, Pressure to Prepare for the Next Big Earthquake (Published 2017)". The New York Times.
^Carothers, Luke (October 27, 2020). "Dr. Kit Miyamoto Elected as a Chair of California Seismic Safety Commission". Civil + Structural Engineer magazine.
^(PDF) Seismic Retrofit of a Landmark Structure Using a Mass Damper: (PDF) Seismic Retrofit of a Landmark Structure Using a Mass Damper, accessdate: March 2, 2022
^lawa.org/news-releases/2010/news-release-33: lawa.org/news-releases/2010/news-release-33, accessdate: March 2, 2022
^"Award of Excellence Winner Kit Miyamoto Travels the Globe to Help Countries Rebuild From Disaster | Engineering News-Record". www.enr.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
^www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2022/01/28/kit-miyamoto-most-admired-ceo-2022-intro.html. Retrieved June 18, 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^"American Society of Civil Engineers - Sacramento Section - Photo Gallery". asce-sacto.org. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
^"Awards". ascecleveland.org. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
^"Kit Miyamoto wins AIA Honor Award - Civil + Structural Engineer magazine". csengineermag.com/. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
^"Distinguished Alumni Awards". www.csus.edu. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
^"CSU, Chico Distinguished Alumni – Chico State Alumni Association". www.csuchico.edu. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
^Mike Alvarez (February 3, 2012). Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce 2012 Installation & Awards Banquet Highlights. Retrieved June 18, 2024 – via YouTube.
^Miyamoto, Kit H.; Sechi, Giulia Jole; Victor, Guilaine; St Come, Beverly; Broughton, Mark; Gilani, Amir S. J. (April 17, 2023), Haiti Earthquake 2021: Findings from the Repair and Damage Assessment of 179,800 Buildings (SSRN Scholarly Paper), Rochester, NY, doi:10.2139/ssrn.4421106, SSRN 4421106, retrieved June 6, 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Gilani, Amir & Miyamoto, H. Kit & Nifuku, Tsutomu. (2018). Seismic Risk Assessment and Retrofit of School Buildings in Developing Countries.
^Gilani, Amir & Miyamoto, H. Kit. (2018). Seismic Collapse Probability of Structures with Viscous Dampers per Asce 7-16: Effect of Large Earthquakes.
^Miyamoto, H. Kit & Gilani, Amir. (2018). Damage Assessment and Seismic Retrofit of Heritage and Modern Buildings in the Aftermath of 2015 Nepal Earthquake.
^Gilani, Amir & Miyamoto, H. Kit. (2018). Design of Structures with Dampers per ASCE 7-16 and Performance for Large Earthquakes. 1-10. 10.1061/9780784481325.001.
^Miyamoto, H. Kit & Gilani, Amir. (2016). Cost-Effective Seismic Isolation Retrofit of Heritage Cathedrals in Haiti. 288-298. 10.1061/9780784479742.024.
^Keller, N. & Miyamoto, K. (2013). Transparente Global Earthquake Risk and Loss Estimation.
^CNN.com: Haiti trying to avoid past mistakes as rebuilding begins – CNN.com, accessdate: March 2, 2022
^Los Angeles Times: Heading inside a quake-damaged hospital in Mexico – Los Angeles Times, accessdate: March 2, 2022
^The New York Times: Japan’s Strict Codes and Drills Are Seen as Lifesavers – The New York Times, accessdate: March 2, 2022
^Rolling Stone: Beyond Relief: How the World Failed Haiti – Rolling Stone, accessdate: March 2, 2022
^Blog: Designing for Disaster – Blog, accessdate: March 2, 2022