John Hooper

Engineer of the Year 1995

John D. Hooper grew up in Everett and has lived in Washington throughout his career. He earned the BSCE from Seattle University in 1981, then went to work with the firm of Ratti Perbix & Clark, taking a leave to study at UC Berkeley where he earned the MSCE in 1984.

As Technical Director with Ratti Perbix & Clark, John took part in the analysis of design of structures including Market Place Tower and Union Station Renovation in Seattle, Yarrow Office Complex in Bellevue, and Carillon Phase II in Kirkland,

In his years at MKA beginning in 1997, John contributed to more than 300 projects as Principal and Director of Earthquake Engineering. His expertise spans all building types, from multi-million-dollar football stadiums to “Essential Facility” medical centers to historic building rehabilitations.

In addition to project work, John involved himself with innumerable committees charged with code development, research, standards review, and more. He worked with the Applied Technology Council, Building Seismic Safety Council, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, and the International Code Committee, among others. John has made immediate follow-up visits to the sites of six major earthquakes -- Loma Prieta and Northridge, California; Maule, Chile; Kobe, Japan; Manzanillo, Mexico; and Taiwan -- to improve the seismic design provisions in the national standards and to develop cost-effective approaches to mitigating seismic risks. His speaking and writing on seismic design provisions of ASCE/SEI 7-05 and 7-10 has involved numerous presentations and more than 40 published papers.

Over more than 3 decades of engineering experience in the fields of renovation, seismic engineering, earthquake engineering, and structural analysis, John has chaired the ASCE's Seismic Subcommittee and Main Committee, served on the NEHRP Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR) and with the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), the Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC), and for 10 years on the Industrial Advisory Board for the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center. He served on the International Codes Council (ICC) Structural Committee 2000-06 and as its Chair 2004-06, developing the structural provisions for the 2003 and 2006 International Building Codes (IBC). He has remained at the forefront of industry advancements and research, especially in seismic analysis, design, and retrofit.

WSPE recognized John in 2008 as Profession Engineer of the Year, noting: "He is an extremely valuable member of the engineering community, who gives extensively of his time and talents to lead the development of the next generation of seismic safety design requirements." In 2005, he received the first James M. Delahay Award presented by the National Council of Structural Engineering Associations in recognition of "Outstanding Service to the Structural Engineering Profession."

2021: AISC Lifetime Achievement Award

Updated April 2012, February 2021