Miscellaneous
Abstract: Tremendous progress has been made in earthquake science and engineering in the past decades. However, fatalities and injuries due to earthquakes continue to dominate recent headlines. With each new event, we are reminded of the power of the forces of nature and are motivated to improve our efforts in mitigation. In this talk, Dr. So will present the work of USGS’s PAGER, an automated system issuing alerts on the impact of significant earthquakes around the world, informing emergency responders, government and aid agencies, and the media of the scope of a potential disaster. She will also talk about her work with the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) and how these ongoing efforts are making a difference in the field at large. Biography: Dr. Emily So is a chartered civil engineer and a Lecturer at the Department of Architecture. Before coming to Cambridge she worked at Arup as a senior geotechnical engineer and has most recently finished a two-year appointment at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as a Mendenhall Fellow. Her area of specialty is casualty estimation in earthquake loss modelling and her research has led to improved understanding of the relationship between death and injury following earthquakes. She has actively engaged with earthquake‐affected communities in different parts of the world, focusing on applying her work towards making real‐world improvements in seismic safety. She is the 2010 Shah Family Innovation Prize winner, an award given annually by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) to promising young practitioners or academics. She is a Director of Studies and Fellow in Architecture at Magdalene College and a Director of Cambridge Architectural Research Ltd.