Special Book Presentation & Signing: Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian in Conversation with Elize Manoukian

Under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, in collaboration with the American University of Armenia (AUA), invite you to a special book signing for Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian’s book: "From Earthquake Tragedy to Beacon of Light: The Story of the American University of Armenia."

The program will commence with a discussion of the book featuring Dr. Der Kiureghian and Elize Manoukian. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event, followed by a book signing. All proceeds from book sales will support AUA.

Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian is President Emeritus of the American University of Armenia and Taisei Professor of Civil Engineering Emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley. He was born in New Julfa, Isfahan, Iran, and attended local Armenian schools. He received his BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from Tehran University and his PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His teaching and research are in the areas of risk and reliability of constructed facilities, stochastic structural dynamics, earthquake engineering, and engineering decision making. He has authored more than 400 publications, including over 130 in archival journals. Among other awards, he is a recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, Alfred M. Freudenthal Medal, Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award, and George Winter Medal. For his efforts in advancing education in Armenia, he was awarded the Movses Khorenatsi Medal by the Government of Armenia and the Saint Sahak-Saint Mesrob Medal by His Holiness Garegin II, Catholicos of All Armenians. Der Kiureghian is a Distinguished Alumnus of both Tehran University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an elected foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, and an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

Elize Manoukian is a Bay Area-based documentarian, journalist, and audio producer. She started in audio as an associate producer for the 2023 California Journalism Award winning podcast "Border City," co-produced by the San Diego Union Tribune and LA Times Studios, and as a writer and producer for "On Shifting Ground with Ray Suarez," a weekly international news show from World Affairs in San Francisco. She's a regular contributor to KQED-SF as a reporter, editor and digital producer, and was an Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) New Voices Fellow for 2024. She is a co-founder of Mother Armenia, a cultural platform bridging the Bay Area with Armenia.

Registration is required to attend as capacity is limited. To reserve a copy of the book, or inquire for more information, please contact the AUA Office of Development at development@aua.am or (510) 925-4282.