Kit Miyamoto

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]

Dr. Hideki "Kit" Miyamoto
Born
Tokyo, Japan
NationalityAmerican, Japanese
EducationPh.D from Tokyo Institute of Technology,[1] MS and BS from California State University[2]
OccupationSeismic safety professional[3]
Known forMiyamoto International, Earthquake disaster response

Early life and education

Miyamoto was born and raised in Tokyo and studied earthquake engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and California State University. He lives in Los Angeles.[7]

Career

Miyamoto started his career in structural engineering[2] and later focused on disaster resiliency, response and reconstruction.[8] 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,[9][10] 2011 Japan earthquake, 2015 Nepal earthquake,[11] 2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes[12] and other seismic risk reduction programs along with disaster risk mitigation policy work.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15] This was the first time this retrofit had been achieved in the United States.[16]

Publications
  • Seismic Risk Assessment and Retrofit of School Buildings In Developing Countries Los Angeles, California, 2018.
  • Seismic Collapse Probability of Structures with Viscous Dampers per ASCE 7-16: Effect of Large Earthquake Los Angeles, California, 2018.
  • Damage Assessment and Seismic Retrofit of Heritage and Modern Buildings in the Aftermath of 2015 Nepal Earthquake Los Angeles, California, 2018.
  • Design of Structures with Dampers per ASCE 7-16 and Performance for Large Earthquakes Houston, Texas, 2018.
  • Cost-Effective Seismic Isolation Retrofit of Heritage Cathedrals in Haiti Santiago, Chile, 2017.
  • Transparent Global Earthquake Risk And Loss Estimation Tokyo, Japan, 2013.

Media

Major media such as CNN,[17] LA Times,[18] NY Times[19] and Rolling Stone[20] have mentioned, represented, or interviewed him. He was also featured in the “Designing for Disaster” exhibit at the National Building Museum.[21]

References
  1. Emblin, Richard (14 August 2017). "Miyamoto: Making Bogotá seismically more secure". The City Paper Bogotá.
  2. van der Meer, Ben (5 December 2014). "H. Kit Miyamoto: Quake expert picks up the pieces". Sacramento Business Journal.
  3. Lin, Rong-Gong (4 October 2017). "In this Mexican town broken by an earthquake, hope rises". Los Angeles Times.
  4. Staff (17 July 2017). "Miyamoto brings its earthquake expertise to seismic Colombia". The City Paper Bogotá.
  5. Ashbrook, Tom (April 19, 2016). "Preparing For The Next Deadly Earthquake". www.wbur.org.
  6. Berardi, Erica (October 29, 2020). "Kit Miyamoto Is Named Chair of California's Seismic Safety Commission". Engineering News-Record.
  7. Fountain, Henry (25 March 2011). "Extent of Damage to Japan's Infrastructure Still Unclear". The New York Times.
  8. Pardo, Daniela (June 4, 2018). "How prepared is Sacramento to receive evacuees after a natural disaster?". American Broadcasting Company 10.
  9. Reitman, Janet (4 August 2011). "Beyond Relief: How the World Failed Haiti". Rolling Stone.
  10. Kurczy, Stephen (4 November 2010). "Haiti's tent cities to bear worst of potential hurricane Tomas". Christian Science Monitor.
  11. Staff (30 November 2015). "Miyamoto stresses on technology, change and modification". The Himalayan Times.
  12. Florido, Adrian (17 January 2020). "Earthquake-Stricken Puerto Ricans Seek Engineers To Inspect The Safety Of Their Homes". WFAE.
  13. Malkin, Elisabeth (5 October 2017). "In Mexico City, Pressure to Prepare for the Next Big Earthquake (Published 2017)". The New York Times.
  14. Carothers, Luke (27 October 2020). "Dr. Kit Miyamoto Elected as a Chair of California Seismic Safety Commission". Civil + Structural Engineer magazine.
  15. (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
  16. lawa.org/news-releases/2010/news-release-33: lawa.org/news-releases/2010/news-release-33, accessdate: March 2, 2022
  17. CNN.com: Haiti trying to avoid past mistakes as rebuilding begins - CNN.com, accessdate: March 2, 2022
  18. Los Angeles Times: Heading inside a quake-damaged hospital in Mexico - Los Angeles Times, accessdate: March 2, 2022
  19. The New York Times: Japan’s Strict Codes and Drills Are Seen as Lifesavers - The New York Times, accessdate: March 2, 2022
  20. Rolling Stone: Beyond Relief: How the World Failed Haiti - Rolling Stone, accessdate: March 2, 2022
  21. Blog: Designing for Disaster - Blog, accessdate: March 2, 2022
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