SoCal Earthquake center hosts meeting, workshops


By
 in

The 2010 annual meeting of the Southern California Earthquake Center begins today at the Hilton Palm Springs Resort to discuss earthquake science and analyze the causes and effects of this year’s earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and Northern Baja California.

The meeting will also serve as a forum for the community to interact, plan events, discuss research projects and activities, and present updates on SCEC.

The center, founded in 1991 to gather earthquake data and build an understanding of earthquake phenomena, has been headquartered at USC since its inception.

More than 540 scientists, experts and students from California and around the world will attend workshops, listen to speakers and discuss the science of earthquakes.

Key speakers include Thomas Jordan, director of SCEC and USC professor of earth sciences, who will address all participants in opening remarks and lead a planning session; Greg Hirth, professor of geological sciences at Brown University, who will deliver a plenary talk; and Mark Benthien, SCEC’s associate director for outreach and lead organizer of the 2009 Great California ShakeOut, who will highlight earthquake communication, education and outreach.

Several earthquake experts are also lead organizers of the Great California ShakeOut drill that will take place Oct. 21, and will be available to discuss the annual statewide earthquake drill.

Pre-meeting workshops were held Saturday and Sunday, and the annual meeting will take place Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Event details and agenda are available at www.scec.org/meetings/2010am. More details about SCEC can be found at www.scec.org.