We look forward to welcoming you to Anchorage, Alaska, which will include a wide range of engaging lectures, poster presentations and more. Click the buttons below to see the full schedule of technical sessions, plenaries, workshops and field trips.
Late-Breaking Sessions:
Attendees may search for abstracts and sessions using the online database:
Opening keynote
Learning from Earthquakes – Observations from the Field and the Design Office Following the 2023 Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Sequence
Ayşe Hortaçsu | Director of Projects, Applied Technology Council
With an official death toll of 60,000, an estimated economic loss of over $100 billion, and the immediate loss of housing for 3 million residents, the February 6 earthquakes directly affected the lives of millions of people in Eastern Türkiye and Northern Syria. Following such a major event, while mourning the lives lost and supporting first responders, it is critical for engineers and scientists to conduct focused efforts to learn from the disaster, as no analytical model or test facility can replicate a real earthquake and its effects on built infrastructure. The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) established the Learning From Earthquakes (LFE) program in 1973 with a mission to accelerate and increase learning from earthquake-induced disasters that affect the natural, built, social and political environments worldwide. Ayse Hortacsu was deployed to Türkiye one week following the earthquakes as part of the EERI LFE team, and she will summarize her field observations and findings reported by additional teams reported over the past year. The presentation will also include a summary of rebuilding efforts and ongoing initiatives towards improving the way earthquake science and engineering are taught and implemented in Türkiye, and potential implications for the U.S. practice.
Plenary panel
Challenges in Geohazards Research in Alaska
Elena Suleiman | University of Alaska Fairbanks/Alaska Earthquake Center
Rob Witter | U.S. Geological Survey
Jessica Larsen | University of Alaska Fairbanks
Dennis Staley | U.S. Geological Survey
The Pacific-North American plate boundary in Alaska produces a range of geohazards resulting from earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and tsunamis. The regional scale of geohazards in Alaska, their cascading effects, and remoteness of the fieldwork, which is required to investigate them, present many challenges. A panel will share perspectives on these challenges and discuss new frontiers and opportunities to characterize, monitor, detect, and prepare for the myriad geohazards in Alaska.
Awards and Presidential address
Annual Business and Awards Luncheon
Ruth Harris | U.S. Geological Survey
SSA President Heather DeShon will preside over the awards ceremony and provide an update on the Society. Immediate Past President Ruth Harris (2023-24) will deliver the presidential address.
joyner lecture
Why Seismic Hazard Modeling Has Become a Risky Business
Helen Crowley | Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation
Crowley’s Joyner Lecture will look at the role that probabilistic seismic hazard models have historically played in defining actions for seismic design, will review the criticisms that have been placed on these models—especially, but not only, after damaging earthquakes—and will present numerous examples that underline the need for risk assessment to be an integral part of this process going forward.