Finding Faults and Forecasting Shakers

Lisa Grant, associate professor in the School of Social Ecology, identifies and studies active faults to quantify their potential for generating large earthquakes. Grant currently studies the San Andreas’ fault, looking at the record of past earthquakes to help forecast future quakes. Grant’s research on earthquake occurrence patterns is applied to earthquake forecasting, land-use planning, building design, risk assessment, disaster preparedness planning and public education about the earthquake threat. She recently collaborated on a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science on how new computer simulations could help forecast the next great San Francisco earthquake. Grant has studied a blind fault in the San Joaquin Hills in Orange County since she was a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology. Contact Lisa Grant at 949-824-5491 or lgrant@uci.edu.
Additional contact: Jason Mednick at 949-824-5951 or jmednick@uci.edu

Engineering with Earthquakes in Mind

Masanobu Shinozuka, Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is a world-renowned expert in earthquake and structural engineering. Shinozuka’s research includes risk assessment of water, electrical power and transportation networks and analysis of the socioeconomic impacts of natural disasters. He also has an interest in advanced technologies such as remote sensing and geographic information systems for disaster assessment and mitigation. His work plays a part in earthquake engineering for buildings and bridges. Contact Masanobu Shinozuka at 949-824-9379 or shino@uci.edu.
Additional contact: Jason Mednick at 949-824-5951 or jmednick@uci.edu

Maria Feng, professor of civil and environmental engineering, studies experimental mechanics, structural analysis and design, structural dynamics, and vibration control. Her work focuses on the science and technology of earthquake and wind protection, structural health monitoring and damage detection methods for civil infrastructure systems. She is developing optical fiber sensors to monitor the soundness of bridges and other structures. Feng is leading research in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey that monitors the Calit2 building on the UCI campus for movement in response to earthquakes or other ground activity. Feng can be reached through Shellie Nazarenus at 949-824-9622 or snaz@uci.edu.
Additional contact: Jason Mednick at 949-824-5951 or jmednick@uci.edu

Using Technology to Enhance Emergency Response

Sharad Mehrotra, a computer science systems professor, directs Project ResCUE, which stands for Responding to Crises and Unexpected Events. Project researchers are studying ways to enhance emergency responders’ ability to gather, manage, use and disseminate information to other responders and to the public. Mehrotra also researches Internet technology and systems software. Mehrotra can be reached through Shellie Nazarenus at 949-824-9622 or snaz@uci.edu.
Additional contact: Jason Mednick at 949-824-5951 or jmednick@uci.edu

Stephen Jenks, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, is expanding the capabilities of the Highly Interactive Parallelized Display Wall at Calit2. The HIPerWall is the world’s highest-resolution gridbased display for visualizing and manipulating massive sets of data. The 50-panel, 23-foot-by-9-foot wall provides a resolution of 200 million pixels that bring to life biomedical images, climate datasets and geographical data. Researchers used the wall to display satellite and aerial images of New Orleans pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina, advancing research that one day will allow emergency responders to react to crises more quickly. Jenks can be reached through Shellie Nazarenus at 949-824-9622 or snaz@uci.edu.
Additional contact: Jason Mednick at 949-824-5951 or jmednick@uci.edu

Jason Mednick
949-824-5951
jmednick@uci.edu