During February 11 – 14, Digitexx exhibited at the 2009 EERI-WSSPC Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. The theme was “Earthquake Risk Reduction – Are Voluntary Actions the Key?” and was attended by over 400 people from several relevant industries and organizations. Mark Sereci and Jon Keech were in the Digitexx booth during the conference, had ample opportunity to meet with friends old and new, and participated in several valuable lectures and discussions geared to explore various aspects, key barriers, and incentives for voluntary action to enhance our communities’ seismic safety.

Among the high points of the conference was the Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition, of which Digitexx was a proud sponsor, along with FEMA, Degenkolb, Kinemetrics, the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, Computers and Structures, and Quanser. As a part of this competition, student teams from around the country designed, analyzed, and fabricated scale models of high-rise office buildings, which were subjected to earthquake motions and tested to failure.

Also of note was a tour of the Utah State Capitol retrofit, which permitted participants to observe both the interior restoration as well as the lower level’s isolators and unique construction details that improve the Capitol’s structural dynamics.

For more information about EERI and this conference, visit http://www.eeri.org/site/content/view/453/280/.

In November, Digitexx sponsored part of the three-day International Earthquake Conference in Los Angeles, California. Mark Sereci and Jon Keech attended the conference and networked with many Digitexx friends and alliances from the USGS, Degenkolb, FEMA, and the City of Los Angeles. The conference focus was on policy, planning, and preparedness, and was attended by policymakers, emergency managers, and responders from the high-earthquake-risk megacities of the world. Digitexx was pleased to be a part of the conference and learn about new technologies that will reduce earthquake risk, and share ideas about minimizing losses.

As part of the conference, on Nov. 13 attendees had the privilege of witnessing the Great Southern California ShakeOut (www.shakeout.org) at various locations around the city. This earthquake preparedness drill played out a scenario created by the USGS and CGS in which a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit an area off the coast of the Salton Sea, centered on the San Andreas Fault. The scenario provided valuable insight into what could happen during and after such an earthquake, including structural damage to over 600,000 buildings, 1,600 fires, over US$200 billion in damage, 50,000 injuries, and 1,800 deaths. Specifically, Digitexx observed the operations at Holy Cross Medical Center, which acted out an emergency medical facility setup in conjunction with a local high school. This was also attended by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who also conducted a press conference at the site.

Particularly interesting was the Share Fair, which allowed for an information exchange between cities who attended the conference. Digitexx was able to directly talk to representatives from across the country and from around the world about their earthquake preparedness and risk management measures.

This past October, Digitexx CEO and President Mark Sereci, accompanied by team members Tino Mihajlovik (from our Macedonia office) and Jon Keech, attended the 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (www.14wcee.com) in Beijing, China. As the platinum sponsor, Digitexx participated in this five-day summit on earthquake innovation, practice, and safety. During the five days at the conference, we spoke with new and old friends alike, and learned much about recent technological developments. Held at the Jiuhua Spa & Resort, there was even some time for sightseeing and relaxing between information sessions and presentations.

Digitexx welcomes Jon Keech, P.Eng., M.Sc., who will serve as the Senior Research and Development Engineer. He is guiding the fabrication of the current generation of hardware, and traveling to various worldwide conferences to further the Digitexx presence and build industry alliances. Jon will lead the development of next generation hardware platforms and oversee the development of new software concepts.

Before joining Digitexx, Jon was most recently employed by IMV Projects in Calgary as a mechanical engineer, designing heat exchangers and pressure vessels for thermal heavy oil plants in northern Alberta. Prior to that, he worked for AFTi, also in Calgary, as a design engineer, where he developed a system for the remote non-invasive measurement of natural gas flow in remote wellhead locations for the Alberta natural gas industry. AFTI, a startup with a business model similar to that of Digitexx, has since grown and been profitably sold.

A Canadian native born in Edmonton, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering with a minor in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary. Additionally, he holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a Mechanical Design Engineering specialization, also from the University of Calgary.

In his spare time, of which he says there is increasingly very little, he enjoys road cycling, cross country skiing, and ice hockey, both as a recreational participant as well as a diehard fan of the Calgary Flames. He lives in the Phoenix area with his wife, stepson, and three boisterous dogs. He can be reached at jon.keech@digitexx com.