Structural subassemblage tests at the university of Minnesota inspired by U.S.-Japan collaborative research program

U.S. and Japan have had a history of collaboration to mitigate the effects of earthquakes. In 1977, a cooperative agreement set forward a plan to improve the safety of building structures. This plan led to collaborative research over the next several decades that included studies of reinforced concrete, masonry, steel, and precast structural systems. This paper summaries some of the research on structural subassemblages at the University of Minnesota that stemmed from that collaboration. The intent of this paper is to also recognize the contributions provided by Prof. James K. Wight who played a key role in the U.S. Japan collaboration and in the dissemination of the outcomes of research through his leadership at the American Concrete Institute (ACI) including his roles with technical committees including ACI Committees 318 - Structural Concrete Building Code and 352 - Joints and Connections in Monolithic Concrete Structures.