2023 Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition
The 2023 Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition will be held in San Francisco, California, from April 11 to April 14!
We hope to see you at the 2023 Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition!
Please click through the above menu links for more information!

Announcements
Announcement 5: 01/15/2023
Hi teams, any damping device proposals are due by 11:59 pm PST on Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023. Additionally, as per the Official Rules, the top 9 proposals will receive bonuses during the competition. This list is as follows (in alphabetical order, NOT placement order):
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- Cornell University
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- Istanbul Technical University
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- Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra
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- Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest
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- Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
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- The University of British Columbia
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- Universidad Iberoamericana
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- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- University of Victoria
We can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with and are excited to see y’all at the event in San Francisco, CA!! : D
Announcement 4: 01/06/2023
Hi teams, thanks to all of the teams that have submitted a proposal and congrats to all of the teams whose proposal has been accepted and invited to the competition!! The list of schools invited to the competition can be found below in alphabetical order:
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- Ain Shams University
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- Altinbas University
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- Brigham Young University
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- Cal Poly Pomona
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- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
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- California State University, Northridge
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- Cornell University
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- Helwan University
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- Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
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- Instanbul Technical University
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- Izmir Katip Çelebi University
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- McMaster University
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- New York University
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- North Carolina State University
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- Oregon State University
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- Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra
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- Purdue University
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- Seattle University
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- Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest
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- Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
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- The University of British Columbia
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- The University of Memphis
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- The University of Texas at Austin
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- Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas
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- Universidad Iberoamericana
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- Universidad Politecnica Salesiana
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- Universitas Indonesia
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- University at Buffalo
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- University of California – Berkeley
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- University of California – Los Angeles
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- University of California – San Diego
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- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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- University of Massachusetts Amherst
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- University of Michigan
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- University of Nevada, Reno
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- University of Southern California
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- University of Toronto
- University of Victoria
Announcement 3: 11/21/2022
Hi teams, the Clarifications form is out now! Please go to the “Clarifications” tab and click on the “Clarification Submission” link to go to the form. Please fill it out and your question shall be answered as soon as possible. Answers for all clarification questions can be found on the “Clarifications” tab.
Thanks and good luck with y’alls proposals!! : D
Announcement 2: 10/29/2022
Hi teams, the rules for SDC 2023 are finally out!! Please refer to the “Rules & Competition Documents” Section to find all of the rules documents and read each one carefully. The proposal this year is due on Friday, December 16, 2022 at 11:59 pm PST. Good luck to all of the teams this year!! : D
If your team hasn’t filled out the interest survey but would still like to participate, it’s not too late! Just shoot an email to: sdc@eeri.org
Announcement 1: 10/04/2022
The 2023 Seismic Design Competition (SDC) season is fast approaching! While the rules and regulations are still being finalized by the Student Leadership Council (SLC)’s SDC chairs, the SLC wants to know in advance how many undergraduate teams are interested in competing next year! Please fill out the interest form below (One per school)!
Rules & Competition Documents
Rules
Official Rules 2023
Boring Log
Depth vs Shear Wave Velocity Graph
SDC T-Shirt Competition 2023
Additional Helpful Documents
Design Guide 2023
Glossary 2023
Requirements & Rubrics
Proposal Requirements 2023
Damping Proposal Requirements & Rubric 2023
Architecture Rubric 2023
Poster Requirements 2023
Presentation Requirements 2023
Ground Motions
Important Dates
Please note that all dates are subject to change! Also all cutoffs are 11:59 pm PST.
Milestone | Date / Deadline |
Interest Form | Friday, November 4, 2022 |
Rules Released | Saturday, October 29, 2022 |
Proposal Submission | Friday, December 16, 2022 |
Damping Proposal Submission | Tuesday, January 31, 2023 |
Final Registration Deadline | TBD |
Floor Area Calculations and Performance Predictions Submission | TBD |
Clarifications
If you would like to submit a clarification request, please do so here:
Please click on the questions to see the answers!
1. Introduction
6. Design Proposals and Damping Device Approval Process
7. Structural Model
8. Strong Ground Motion Testing
11. Judging and Appeals
12. Design Guide
13. Damping Proposal Requirements
Results
Top 9 Proposals (in alphabetical order)
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- Cornell University
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- Istanbul Technical University
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- Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra
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- Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest
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- Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
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- The University of British Columbia
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- Universidad Iberoamericana
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- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- University of Victoria
Full Results
The results for the 2023 Seismic Design Competition are here! To download a copy of the score pdf, just click on the title and you can download it from there.
Congratulations to all of the teams that participated this year! We hope you learned a lot and hope to see you next year! : D
Summary
1st Place: Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
2nd Place: University at Buffalo
3rd Place: Cornell University
Charles Richter Award for Spirit of the Competition: The University of Texas at Austin
Egor Popov Award for Structural Innovation: Cornell University
T-Shirt Design: Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (Honorable mentions: Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest and Universidad Iberoamericana)
Best Seismic Performance: The University of Memphis
Best Communication Skills Award: The University of British Columbia
Best Architecture Award: Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest
Most Improved Team: University at Buffalo
Rookie of the SDC Award: Altınbaş University