Kit Miyamoto Explained
Dr. Hideki "Kit" Miyamoto (born 1963) 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]
Early life and education
Miyamoto was born and raised in Tokyo and studied earthquake engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and California State University. He lives in Los Angeles.[8]
Career
Miyamoto started his career in structural engineering 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, 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 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
Year | Award | Institution or Publication | Distinction |
---|
2024 | Award of Excellence[18] | Engineering News Record | Recognition of trajectory in engineering, disaster risk reduction, and post-disaster and post-conflict response across the globe. |
2022 | Most Admired CEO[19] | Sacramento Business Journal | Honorees for this award program were nominated by Business Journal readers and staff and chosen through a vote of their peers. |
2015 | Humanitarian Award[20] | American Society of Civil Engineers of Sacramento | The award is given annually to an outstanding Sacramento Section member who supports ASCE’s mission through dedication of time and involvement with humanitarian efforts, local Section affairs, safety, social services, and the like. |
2013 | G. Brooks Earnest Technical Lecture Award[21] | American Society of Civil Engineers | This Award lecture is presented by an outstanding individual of National and/or International prominence, preferably one who is renowned in the field of Civil Engineering. |
2013 | 1st Annual Business Innovation & Economic Development Award | Haiti Renewal Alliance | |
2012 | Allied Professions Honor Award[22] | American Institute of Architects California Council | The award celebrates a member of an allied profession who is committed to enhancing and contributing to the field of architecture and architectural design. |
2012 | Distinguished Alumni[23] | California State University, Sacramento | The Distinguished Service Award recognizes professional achievements and community service to alumni. |
2011 | Distinguished Alumni[24] | California State University, Chico | The Distinguished Alumni Award honors alumni from California State University for their outstanding contributions to their communities. |
2011 | Fellow | American Society of Civil Engineers | |
2011 | Frederick W. Panhorst Structural Engineering Award | American Society of Civil Engineers | |
2011 | Top 25 Newsmakers | Engineering News Record | Special recognition to Engineering News Record stories chosen by ENR editors. |
2011 | Alfred E. Alquist California Seismic Safety Commissioner[25] | Seismic Safety Commission | The Seismic Safety Commission (SSC) investigates earthquakes, researches earthquake-related issues and reports, and recommends to the Governor and Legislature policies and programs needed to reduce earthquake risk. |
2011 | Community Service Award[26] | Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce | |
2011 | Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership Award | Zweig Group | The Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership Award is given each year to someone working in an architecture, engineering, planning or environmental firm who has made tremendous impacts on the company through courageous leadership. | |
Publications
- Haiti earthquake 2021: Findings from the repair and damage assessment of 179,800 buildings, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (2024)
- Seismic Risk Assessment and Retrofit of School Buildings In Developing Countries, 11th U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Los Angeles, California (2018)[27]
- 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)[28]
- 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)[29]
- Design of Structures with Dampers per ASCE 7–16 and Performance for Large Earthquakes, Structures Congress, Houston, Texas (2018)[30]
- Cost-Effective Seismic Isolation Retrofit of Heritage Cathedrals in Haiti, 16th World Conference on Earthquake, Santiago, Chile (2017)[31]
- Transparent Global Earthquake Risk And Loss Estimation, Tokyo, Japan (2013)[32]
Media
Major media such as CNN,[33] LA Times,[34] NY Times[35] and Rolling Stone[36] have mentioned, represented, or interviewed him. He was also featured in the “Designing for Disaster” exhibit at the National Building Museum.[37]
Notes and References
- News: Emblin . Richard . Miyamoto: Making Bogotá seismically more secure . The City Paper Bogotá . August 14, 2017.
- News: van der Meer . Ben . H. Kit Miyamoto: Quake expert picks up the pieces . Sacramento Business Journal . December 5, 2014.
- News: Lin . Rong-Gong . In this Mexican town broken by an earthquake, hope rises . . October 4, 2017.
- News: Staff . Miyamoto brings its earthquake expertise to seismic Colombia . The City Paper Bogotá . July 17, 2017.
- News: Ashbrook . Tom . Preparing For The Next Deadly Earthquake . www.wbur.org . April 19, 2016 . en.
- News: Berardi . Erica . Kit Miyamoto Is Named Chair of California's Seismic Safety Commission . . October 29, 2020 . en.
- Web site: Appointed Commissioners & Staff Seismic Safety Commission . 2024-06-06 . en.
- Web site: Fountain . Henry . Extent of Damage to Japan's Infrastructure Still Unclear . . March 25, 2011.
- News: Pardo . Daniela . How prepared is Sacramento to receive evacuees after a natural disaster? . American Broadcasting Company 10 . June 4, 2018.
- Reitman . Janet . Beyond Relief: How the World Failed Haiti . . August 4, 2011.
- News: Kurczy . Stephen . Haiti's tent cities to bear worst of potential hurricane Tomas . . November 4, 2010.
- News: Staff . Miyamoto stresses on technology, change and modification . . November 30, 2015.
- News: Florido . Adrian . Earthquake-Stricken Puerto Ricans Seek Engineers To Inspect The Safety Of Their Homes . . January 17, 2020 . en.
- News: Malkin . Elisabeth . In Mexico City, Pressure to Prepare for the Next Big Earthquake (Published 2017) . . October 5, 2017.
- News: Carothers . Luke . Dr. Kit Miyamoto Elected as a Chair of California Seismic Safety Commission . Civil + Structural Engineer magazine . October 27, 2020.
- (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
- Web site: Award of Excellence Winner Kit Miyamoto Travels the Globe to Help Countries Rebuild From Disaster Engineering News-Record . 2024-06-18 . www.enr.com . en.
- Web site: https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2022/01/28/kit-miyamoto-most-admired-ceo-2022-intro.html . 2024-06-18 . www.bizjournals.com.
- Web site: American Society of Civil Engineers - Sacramento Section - Photo Gallery . 2024-06-20 . asce-sacto.org.
- Web site: Awards . 2024-07-05 . ascecleveland.org . en.
- Web site: Kit Miyamoto wins AIA Honor Award - Civil + Structural Engineer magazine . 2024-06-20 . csengineermag.com/ . en-US.
- Web site: Distinguished Alumni Awards . 2024-07-05 . www.csus.edu . en.
- Web site: CSU, Chico Distinguished Alumni – Chico State Alumni Association . 2024-07-05 . www.csuchico.edu . en.
- Web site: Appointed Commissioners & Staff Seismic Safety Commission . 2024-07-05 . en.
- Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce 2012 Installation & Awards Banquet Highlights . 2012-02-03 . Mike Alvarez . 2024-06-18 . YouTube.
- 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