EERI Student Leadership Council (SLC)

2026 Registration Grants Now Available!!!

We're excited to announce that registration grants are available for teams participating in the 2026 Seismic Design Competition! These grants are designed to help teams attend SDC 2026 and will be awarded based on recent SDC participation history and the team's demonstrated likelihood of attending the competition.

Who Should Apply?
All teams in need are welcome to apply. Priority will be given to teams that have not participated in the SDC in the last 3 years.

Application Requirements
As part of your application, you'll need to submit a written plan detailing how your team will:
1. Pay for other competition expenses (lodging, travel, tower shipment, materials, etc.)
2. Complete all competition deliverables (proposal, physical tower, presentation, architecture, etc.)

The SLC Executive Committee and EERI will evaluate applications based on the quality of the submitted plan and recent SDC participation history. Selected teams will receive grants to cover competition registration for up to 5 team members.

Grant Recipient Responsibilities
Selected teams must provide a single progress update by March 16, 2026, including travel/lodging receipts as proof of attendance. If your team determines at any point that you cannot attend the competition, please notify the SLC immediately so the grant can be reassigned to another team. Failure to provide the March 16 update will result in the grant being awarded to another team.

Important Notes
Only one representative per team should submit an application. If multiple applications are received from the same university, only the most recent submission will be reviewed.

Application Deadline: Friday, January 23, 2026, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Application Link: https://forms.gle/DrQYRGq1j6hMRjyz5

Questions? Contact the SLC Executive Committee at [email protected].

Hi all,

For SDC 2026, the Damping Proposal, Proposal Requirements, and Ground Motion Selection Guide have now been released on the competition website: https://slc.eeri.org/sdc-2026/

The revised Official Rules and Design Guide have also been uploaded.

Note that we are also extending the Proposal Submission Deadline to January 16th, 2026.

Hi Everyone,

2026 Seismic Design Competition Save the Date + Rules Released!!!

The 23rd annual EERI Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition rules have been released! Developed by the Student Leadership Council (SLC), this year’s rules feature an exciting competition scenario set in Portland, Oregon, USA. The competition will be held at the Oregon Convention Center from Monday, July 13 until Friday, July 17, 2026. The rules are available in the “Rules & Competition Documents” section on the SLC website: https://slc.eeri.org/sdc-2026/.

If your student chapter is still interested in participating in the 2026 competition but has not completed the interest survey, please email the EERI SLC ([email protected]) and complete the interest survey ASAP.

EERI and the SLC are deeply grateful to our 2026 SDC sponsors! Thank you to our SDC Anchor Sponsor, Computer & Structures, Inc. This event is made possible by the generous commitment of CSI, and the support of the other SDC sponsors: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Degenkolb, Kinemetrics, California Earthquake Authority, University of California at Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling, Oregon State University College of Engineering, and Tipping.

The Student Leadership Council (SLC) has opened the interest form for university student chapters that are planning to participate in the 2026 Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition (SDC), which will be held at the 13NCEE in Portland next summer.

Prospective SDC teams should fill out the form linked in our bio by October 17, 2025. Only one person per chapter needs to fill out the survey. The form can also be found in our Linktree account (account info in the bio). More information about the 2026 SDC will be announced soon!!!

Hi all,

Meet our incredible 2025-26 EERI SLC, who wrapped up their annual retreat in Oakland, CA, last month. This dedicated team is gearing up and working to make our 2026 SDC a huge success. Big thanks to and for hosting us at their office!!! Make sure you keep an eye out for the updates regarding the upcoming SDC!! 🔥😀💯 -26

Hi Everyone:

As we prepare for the release of the official rules for the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗘𝗘𝗥𝗜 𝗦𝗲𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿, we would like to provide advance notice to teams traveling from outside the United States. Beginning 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, the U.S. government will implement a new 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗦𝗗 $𝟮𝟱𝟬, applied to most nonimmigrant visa categories in addition to the standard application fee. This change may affect the total cost and processing time for visas required to attend the competition.
Given these updates, we 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. Early preparation will help ensure timely approval and smooth participation in the 2026 SDC.

Thank you all for making the 2025 Seismic Design Competition a great success, and congratulations to all the teams!
The SLC had a fantastic week in Berkeley, and we hope you did too. Until next year!

EERI and the SLC are deeply grateful to our 2025 SDC sponsors! Thank you to our SDC Anchor Sponsor, Computer & Structures, Inc. This event is made possible by the generous commitment of CSI, and the support of the other SDC sponsors: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Degenkolb, California Earthquake Authority, GeoVera, Kinemetrics, and the University of California at Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling.

📢 Voting for the 2025 SDC T-Shirt Competition is LIVE! 🎉
It’s time to choose the winning designs! Voting is open now through February 20 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).
✅ How to Vote:
1️⃣ View the high-resolution designs in the slides: See link in the bio
2️⃣ Select your top three favorite designs.
3️⃣ Submit your votes in the Voting Form ( see link in bio)
🏆 What Happens Next?
🥇 First Place – The winner will receive $200, a complimentary t-shirt, and of course, the bragging rights that all teams and SLC members will be wearing your design at the competition!
🥈 Second Place & 🥉 Third Place – Will be showcased in the competition banner or on the award certificates presented during the ceremony.
🗳️ Anyone can vote, so spread the word!

Congratulations to all 53 teams that were accepted to participate in the 2025 SDC and thank you for your continued hard work for the competition this year. Please see below the list of top 10 proposals listed in alphabetical order, not in order of scores. To see the list showing all accepted teams, check out our website under 2025-sdc.

For the teams that have not submitted their EERI student chapter application yet, your acceptance is contingent upon the application submission by January 31,2025.

Top 10:
Izmir Katip Celebi University
McMaster University
Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra
SUNY University At Buffalo
Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
The University of British Columbia
Universitas Indonesia
University of California, San Diego
Utah State University

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information about the logistics of the competition.

EERI and the SLC are deeply grateful to our 2025 SDC sponsors! Thank you to our SDC Anchor Sponsor, Computer & Structures, Inc. This event is made possible by the generous commitment of CSI, and the support of the other SDC sponsors: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Degenkolb, California Earthquake Authority, GeoVera, Kinemetrics, and the University of California at Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling.

2025 SDC Hotel and Accommodation Information.
All 2025 SDC participants are asked to book housing accommodations that best suit their team’s needs. EERI will not be providing an event hotel room block to book with. All teams are responsible for finding and booking their own accommodations.
The SDC will be held at the ASUC Student Union: Martin Luther King Jr. Building on UC Berkeley’s campus. The address is 2495 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720. Teams may need to transport their structures from their hotel to the MLK Jr. Building. Please consider this when booking your accommodations.
Below are a few nearby hotels at varying price points. Please note, that all estimated rates listed below are subject to change. Please view the hotel website for the most up-to-date pricing. Teams can also book through Airbnb or another vacation rental company.
Graduate by Hilton Berkeley
2600 Durant Ave
Berkeley, CA 94704
5 minute walk to SDC venue (.2 miles)
Estimated starting rate: $200 per night
Residence Inn Downtown
2121 Center St.
Berkeley, CA 94704
15 minute walk to SDC venue (.6 miles)
Estimated starting rate: $300 per night (note, these rooms include a kitchen)
Hotel Shattuck Plaza
2086 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
15 minute walk to SDC venue (.6 miles)
Estimated starting rate: $225 per night