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Please read and share this update on recent and upcoming SCEC activities, and how you can participate.
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The SCEC Executive Committee
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From the Directors
As you know, we are in an unprecedented period and SCEC along with our research partners face significant challenges posed by changing national policies and funding priorities. Our community has several fundamental assets that will enable us to remain successful and potentially emerge stronger on the other side of the transition period ahead. The SCEC community has demonstrated remarkable innovation, dedication, and resilience over the 34-year lifetime of the Center. We remain committed to directing our collective efforts and resources to fostering an inclusive, vibrant global community that drives earthquake science and education for societal resilience.
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In late May, the SCEC Board of Directors, the Science Steering Committee, the External Advisory Council, and representatives from USC administration convened to discuss the state of the Center and prioritized activities for the coming year that would increase the impact and sustainability of SCEC for the longer term. The director-designate, Ahmed Elbanna, outlined an exciting vision for SCEC that will advance digital twins to fuse geophysical data and models to address cascading earthquake hazards and develop a reinvigorated earthquake engineering interface. We left the leadership meeting energized and reassured about the potential of SCEC to continue to define the state-of-the-art in earthquake system science and lead efforts that improve the resilience of communities to earthquakes and associated hazards. We continue to pursue resources to support these activities, including funding from federal and state agencies, private sector partnerships, and sustained access to high-performance computing. While we remain committed to securing additional support, we are equally dedicated to making the most of the resources currently available.
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We look forward to sharing in the community’s accomplishments and discussing these strategies for the future and other topics at the upcoming in-person annual meeting in Palm Spring from September 7-10. We hope to see many of you in the meeting and anticipate lively discussions during the sessions, and late into the nights, in the best tradition of SCEC.
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From the SCEC Board
The SCEC Board of Directors continues to be actively engaged with SCEC activities and governance. On May 8-10, the annual SCEC Leadership Retreat took place, and the Board was well-represented. In a departure from previous years, where SCEC leadership convened in Palm Springs, the leadership met via Zoom to review the SCEC Year 2 milestones and special projects, begin planning for the annual meeting, and prepare for the next phase of the Center which will be led by Director Designate Ahmed Elbanna.
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In July, SCEC welcomed State University of New York at Stony Brook as our newest SCEC Core Institution. Dr. Weisen Shen will serve as the institutional representative to the SCEC Board of Directors. SCEC also welcomed twelve new or returning Participating Institutions and their representatives which includes: Arizona State University (Dr. Ramon Arrowsmith), Cornell University (Dr. Rowena Lohman), CSU Bakersfield (Dr. Matthew Herman), University of Canterbury, New Zealand (Dr. Brendon Bradley), University of Colorado Boulder (Dr. Kathryn Materna), ETH - Zürich (Dr. Stefan Wiemer), University of Massachusetts Amherst (Dr. Michele Cooke), Ohio State University (Dr. Ashley Griffith), Oregon State University (Dr. Pieter-Ewald Share), Pennsylvania State University (Dr. Kevin Furlong), the University of Utah (Dr. Fan-Chi Lin), and Utah State University (Dr. Alexis Ault).
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Much of the work of the Board is possible due to the efforts of our Board Officers, who are instrumental in helping recruit new members of the SCEC community and working to ensure the formal approval of Core and Participating Institutions. As of May, our Board Officers have stepped into the formalized roles as required by the SCEC By-laws, and will serve as follows:
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Sylvain Barbot (Communications), Jillian Maloney, (Community Involvement), David Oglesby (Chair, Professional Conduct Committee), Andreas Plesch (Elections and Voting), Zach Ross (Stakeholder Engagement), Heather Savage (Leadership Recruitment), Paul Segall (Chair, Director’s Advisory Committee), and Daniel Trugman (By-laws and Governance).
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We owe a debt of gratitude to our Board Officers for accepting these critical roles that enable the Board of Directors to better serve the SCEC community.
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Public Education and Preparedness
SCEC continues to develop and share earthquake education and preparedness messaging and activities, which the SCEC Community are encouraged to use and attend!
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- ShakeOut 2025 already has over 12 million registered participants nationwide—6 million in California—and continues to grow internationally. Visit ShakeOut.org/resources for tools to hold drills and engage others at your institution, in your networks, and across your community.
- The SCEC-led Earthquake Country Alliance (ECA) organizes quarterly workshops which feature presentations by members of the SCEC Community. The spring ECA SoCal workshop at the LA Regional Food Bank included presentations by Alice Gabriel (UCSD/Scripps) and Jessie Saunders (Caltech) about the 4/14/25 M5.2 Julian earthquake. ECA Bay Area’s spring workshop at the City of San Jose Emergency Operations Center featured a presentation by Betsy Madden (SJSU) about local seismic hazard research that emphasized the work of her large team of students, and also by Samantha Stanley (Berkeley) titled Earthquake news in the Age of AI (a fascinating talk that will also be shared in the SCEC Annual Meeting’s “Risky Communications” session, along with a presentation by LA Times earthquake reporter Ron Lin). Upcoming ECA workshops are set for Caltech (August 13) and Hayward City Hall (August 27). To learn about these and other activities, join the ECA mailing list.
- We received more than 40 applications for the 2025 ECA Mini Award Program which provides selected non-profits, schools, and government agencies across the state each up to $500 in seismic safety fasteners (with NEHRP funding from FEMA provided through the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services). Visit EarthquakeCountry.org/step1 to learn how to secure your space!
- Finally, our USGS-funded project in support of the HayWired Scenario Exercise Toolkit is finalizing three new tools and holding four training sessions throughout the Bay Area this summer (email benthien@usc.edu if you are interested in attending).
The SCEC Science Collaboration
Sustained engagement within the SCEC community—and with partner communities—is vital to advancing earthquake science, education, and preparedness in California. The Center supports these efforts through a range of activities, including technical working groups, workshops, field activities, annual meetings, and preparedness drills. These initiatives foster long-term collaboration and build strong scientific and interpersonal networks. SCEC remains committed to cultivating a vibrant, inclusive community of researchers to lead the future of earthquake system science.
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Technical Activity Groups and Technical Trainings. SCEC fosters collaboration through Technical Activity Groups (TAGs), which address focused scientific challenges using structured mechanisms. TAGs are launched through the annual SCEC collaboration planning process and sunset upon achieving their goals. Through in-person and virtual workshops and trainings, participants share knowledge and build networks that accelerate research progress. The 2024 SCEC Collaboration Plan supported (1) four TAG events: including workshops for the SCEC CGM (Sep 2024), CSEP: New Frontiers in Earthquake Forecasting (Sep 2024), SCEC Dynamic Rupture Verification (Nov 2024), and Community Stress Drop Validation (Feb 2025); (2) two technical trainings: including Earthquake Stress Drop Estimation Tutorial for ECRs (Sep 2024) and CyberTraining for Seismology (Jan 2025); and (3) early-career SCEC researcher participation at the CIG Crustal Deformation Modeling (Jun 2024) and the Gordon Seminar on Capturing Timescales of Rock Deformation (Aug 2024). Outcomes and recommendations are detailed in their SCEC reports available in the SCEC awards database. SCEC also convenes special workshops to address emerging needs. For example, in March 2024, SCEC partnered with USGS, CGS, NASA, LLNL, CIG, and academic institutions to explore the use of Community Earth Models in ground motion simulations and seismic hazard analyses for California. In April 2025, SCEC hosted a workshop focused on advancing multi-scale seismic velocity models critical for accurate ground motion simulations and hazard assessments in California and beyond. Recommendations and recent model developments are available at the SCEC Community Earth Models homepage: www.scec.org/science/cem.
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Community Science Workshops in 2025. The 2025 SCEC Collaboration Plan features seven Community Science Workshops: three focused on advancing the Community Earth Model, three organized by Technical Activity Groups (TAGs) to address model verification, validation, and evaluation, and one commemorating the centennial of the 1925 M6.5 Santa Barbara earthquake. The June 2025 workshop and field trip commemorating the 1925 M6.5 Santa Barbara earthquake centennial brought together 44 participants to re-evaluate the region’s active fault systems and their implications for updated earthquake rupture, crustal deformation, geodetic strain and earthquake hazard models for this region. The event enhanced awareness of earthquake and tsunami risks in the Santa Barbara–Ventura area and promoted broader dissemination of findings among scientists, students, and community stakeholders. In August, the SCEC GFM/CTM Workshop at UC Davis will focus on updating the Geological Framework Model and Community Thermal Model to encompass the entire state of California. September’s SCEC CRM Workshop will convene multidisciplinary teams to develop a FAIR-compliant friction database, identify key knowledge gaps, and advance the Community Rheology Model in support of broader SCEC and CRESCENT science goals. Two workshops are scheduled for November: a virtual dynamic rupture workshop to deepen understanding of fault friction, and an in-person workshop on earthquake rupture and creep in shallow earth materials. For updates on these and other events—including the Community Stress Drop Validation Project Workshops and the CSEP Workshop on Physics-Based Earthquake Forecasting—please check the SCEC calendar and subscribe to our mailing list.
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SCEC Annual Meetings. Each year, the SCEC Annual Meeting brings together a global community engaged in earthquake research, education, and outreach. The event highlights SCEC-funded projects and promotes collaboration among scientists, stakeholders, and sponsors. Over 40% of attendees are early-career researchers and students, and featured speakers include thought leaders from within and beyond SCEC whose work helps to shape future directions for the Center. The 2024 SCEC annual meeting hosted 383 participants from 18 countries—nearly half were early-career researchers. The program included 13 invited plenary talks, a distinguished lecture, and 231 poster presentations, many archived online at the SCEC2024 poster gallery. Notably, 28% were first-time attendees, while 31% have attended 10 or more meetings, reflecting both renewal and continuity. The SCEC Transitions Program supported student and postdoc participation through Research Travel Awards and Lightning Talks in plenary sessions. Check out last year’s annual meeting activities as captured in the SCEC2025 photo album.
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August 15th Deadline for Early Registration. The 2025 SCEC annual meeting will be held at the Hilton Palm Springs, September 7–10, featuring plenary sessions, invited talks, and discussions focused on key questions about the San Andreas Fault System to advance earthquake science and hazard analysis for earthquake preparedness and societal resilience in California and beyond. Attendees are invited to present posters, review progress from the annual SCEC Collaboration Plan, and help shape future priorities. Highlights include sessions on science communication—“Risky Communications: New Approaches to Talking about Earthquakes in a Challenging World”—and “The Path Ahead: Co-Envisioning SCEC’s Next Phase,” where incoming Director Ahmed Elbanna will share his vision for SCEC’s next phase, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and resilience. These sessions reflect SCEC’s commitment to inclusive, forward-looking research and a globally connected scientific community. We hope you’ll register for SCEC2025 and join us in Palm Springs for these important conversations.
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Experiential Learning and Career Advancement
SCEC’s education and workforce development initiatives are advancing its mission to foster an inclusive, collaborative, and skilled earthquake science community. The 2025 ELCA program highlights SCEC’s commitment to supporting students and early-career researchers through internships, mentorship, professional development, and community engagement.
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SCEC Undergraduate Summer Research Experience. SCEC Summer Internships open doors for undergraduates to engage in cutting-edge earthquake science through two unique programs: SURE and SOURCES. The 2025 Internship Program is underway, welcoming a dynamic cohort of 13 students from 12 institutions across the nation, including community colleges, CSUs, and UCs. The cohort reflects SCEC’s expanding commitment to inclusive workforce development and includes projects spanning field data collection, machine learning, and modeling. Many are engaging in research for the first time, gaining hands-on experience and building connections within the broader SCEC collaboration.
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Professional Development and Mentoring. SCEC internships provide early exposure to collaborative, use-inspired earthquake research while building critical skills for future geoscience careers. Interns participate in peer mentoring by current and former interns and attend weekly professional development sessions focused on mentoring relationships, abstract and poster preparation, and Career Talks. This summer’s Career Talks speakers include Mark Benthien (SCEC/Earthquake Preparedness), Wendy Bohon (CGS/Science Communication), Elizabeth Madden (SJSU/Academic Research), and Scott Callaghan (SCEC/HPC); and peer mentors Vivian Rosas, (SOURCES ‘21), Vanessa Herrera (SOURCES ‘22), and Sagar Kapri (SOURCES ‘24).
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Mentor Training to Support Geoscience Careers. SCEC relaunched its mentor training workshops in 2025, building on efforts from 2019 and 2021. In partnership with CRESCENT, two spring mentorship workshops were offered to strengthen research engagement and mentoring capacity within the SCEC community. Harnessing Mentoring Relationships (April 2025) focused on graduate student mentees, while Enhancing Research Mentorship for a Stronger Geoscience Workforce (May 2025) served postdocs and early-career researchers. Both trainings received positive feedback and will return as part of SCEC’s Year 3 efforts.
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Expanding Participation at the Annual Meeting. The SCEC Transitions Program supports student and early-career participation at the SCEC Annual Meeting by offering travel support for research presentations and access to targeted networking events. The SCEC Research Travel Awards aim to reduce financial barriers, enabling recipients to share their work, receive feedback, and grow their professional networks. The Travel Awards application for SCEC2025 is currently open and students and early-career researchers are encouraged to apply. The Breakfast Club provides a relaxed space for early-career researchers to connect with experienced SCEC members from academia, industry, and the public sector. The Poster Lightning Talks give presenters a fast-paced platform to spark interest in their research and invite collaboration from across the community.
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Research Computing Highlights
SCEC’s Research Computing (RC) activities continue to support and accelerate progress across a wide range of center projects. Between April and July 2025, RC staff and collaborators made significant contributions to community model development, software infrastructure, and workforce training.
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In April, SCEC hosted a hybrid workshop titled Multi-Scale Seismic Velocity Models for the SAFS in the Western U.S., which drew 79 participants from 11 countries. The workshop focused on key scientific and technical issues in developing next-generation seismic velocity models for the San Andreas Fault System (SAFS). A summary report from the meeting is now available on the SCEC website.
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In May, the latest release of the Community Stress Model (CSM) expanded the model’s spatial coverage to the entire state of California. This release included peer review by contributors and USGS scientists, a complete metadata package, and archival of model components via Zenodo. The accompanying CSM Explorer tool has also been updated.
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Also in May, SCEC’s Community Earth Model (CEM) team, led by Scott Marshall and Patricia Persaud, convened a developer meeting to assess progress and define next steps for related community models. The discussion covered ongoing efforts and upcoming priorities for the Community Fault Model (CFM), Geodetic Model (CGM), Rheology Model (CRM), Stress Model (CSM), Thermal Model (CTM), and Velocity Model (CVM). For a summary of the SCEC CEM advancements in 2024, see this article.
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In parallel, deployment of key software applications on the Quakeworx Science Gateway is underway. Current installations include pyCSEP, UCERF3-ETAS, SeisSol, Tandem, Moose-FARMS, HFQsim, QuakeNN, and the SCEC Broadband Platform. Researchers interested in using these tools can sign up on the Quakeworx homepage to be notified when the Gateway opens for early-user access.
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In July, SCEC Computer Scientist Scott Callaghan contributed to international training efforts by mentoring students at the International HPC Summer School 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal. He led a session on workflow tools for high-performance computing and joined a panel discussion on HPC challenges in scientific research.
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These efforts reflect SCEC’s ongoing commitment to building shared infrastructure, enabling reproducible science, and preparing the next generation of researchers in computational geoscience.
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Recent Publication: Stress Drop Validation TAG
This June saw the publication in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America of the initial results of the SCEC/USGS Community Stress Drop Validation study (Abercrombie, Baltay, and 42 others, 2025). Stress drop is a fundamental source parameter for both ground motion simulation and source physics.Stress drop estimates are known to be highly variable and difficult to measure. Different estimates for the same event can differ by an order of magnitude or more, and this scatter may mask important trends (such as with depth or mechanism), and undermine attempts to use stress drop for understanding earthquakes and predicting strong ground motion. For these reasons, SCEC organized a Technical Activity Group (TAG) in 2021 to compare stress drops from a variety of methods on a common data set of ~13,000 earthquakes from the 2019 Ridgecrest, California sequence.
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The TAG was led by Rachel Abercrombie and Annemarie Baltay, and involved the participation of 20 research groups from around the world whose methods ranged from spectral decomposition to spectral ratio analysis to finite‐fault modeling, and included ground‐motion‐based approaches. Participants independently calculated and submitted stress drop estimates on a shared platform for comparison and analysis in this open collaboration. The studies identified significant scatter (over 6 orders of magnitude in stress drop) in the results, but because the data used was in common, it is possible to disaggregate the causes of stress drop variability to determine how much of the variation is intrinsic, and how much of it is systematic due to variation in estimation approaches. The Stress Drop Validation TAG is a good example of how SCEC can provide a platform for research from around the world on fundamental questions in earthquake science. Publication of the study marks an important milestone, but much remains to be done. The results are being archived to enable future work, and follow-up studies are already underway. Please join the mailing list if you are interested in being updated about any progress or future workshops or other news opportunities to get involved.
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