The Missouri Miner: Editors-in-Chief: Sylvester Theodore Algermissen

Research Project: 100 years of
The Missouri Miner 1915-2015

Est'd. 1915, Fred Grotts, Founder

Slyvester Theodore Algermissen
EIC 1952-1953

This was the obituary printed in the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute's November 2006 (Vol. 40, No. 11) newsletter. Some type of error resulted in all of the numeral "1" from being erased from the online publication. -RB

"Long-time EERI member S. T. "Ted" Algermissen died suddenly of heart failure on September 19, 2006 at the age of 74. Ted had a distinguished career in geophysics that spanned more than four decades and had a significant influence on his profession. During the 1960s, he developed a seismic hazard map for the United States while working as chief of the Geophysics Research Branch at the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in Rockville, Maryland. His 1969 deterministic ground-motion map was used in the Uniform Building Code as the basis for determining the lateral force coefficients in seismic design until the 1990s. A reorganization in 1973 moved Ted's geophysics group to the Geologic Division in the USGS. The first national probabilistic earthquake ground-motion map (1976) was his idea. Ted pioneered working with the engineering community to use the probabilistic hazard map in the national building codes. In 1983, he wrote the classic An Introduction to the Seismicity of the United States, which became part of EERI's original monograph series. Ted was an effective force in initiating USGS's interaction with foreign countries in bringing their hazard estimation procedures up to modern standards. He also pioneered in loss estimation for major U.S. cities at risk and in urban hazard studies of various sorts. Ted's work with the insurance community was also influential. For his contributions, he received the USGS Meritorious Ser- vice Award and the CERESIS Prize for Contributions to Seismology in South America. Ted's work, his advice, and the help he gave others in the profession touched many lives in a positive way. Ted earned B.S. degrees in geology and German (Missouri School of Mines, 1953) and a Ph.D. in geophysics (St. Louis University and Washington University, 1957). Late in his career he formed a consulting company, GeoRisk Associates. He is survived by his wife Sandy, two sons, a daughter, and seven grandchildren."