Eefit: the UK Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team

The UK Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (Eefit) was established as an independent society in 1982. Between 1984 and 2011, it carried out field missions to 29 earthquake zones, with reports on all of them freely available online. Over a hundred UK-based engineers have participated, split almost equally between industry and academia. There have been a number of significant benefits, including training through observations of the practical effects of ground shaking, fostering strong links between practising and academic participants, establishing international links and gathering data for research into a wide range of earthquake engineering topics. The paper outlines Eefit’s history and development, sets out its achievements and presents details of a recent 5-year government grant that will extend its effectiveness still further.