Annual Meeting - SCEC.org

SCEC Director | Report
November, 2007. All proposals were independently reviewed by the Director and Deputy Director.
Each proposal was also independently reviewed by the leaders and/or co-leaders of three relevant
focus groups or disciplinary committees. (Reviewers were required to recuse themselves when
they had a conflict of interest.) The Planning Committee met on January 14-15, 2008, and spent two
days discussing every proposal. The objective was to formulate a coherent, budget-balanced
science program consistent with SCEC's basic mission, short-term objectives, long-term goals, and
institutional composition. Proposals were evaluated according to the following criteria:
a. Scientific merit of the proposed research.
b. Competence and performance of the investigators, especially in regard to past SCEC-sponsored
research.
c. Priority of the proposed project for short-term SCEC objectives.
d. Promise of the proposed project for contributing to long-term SCEC goals.
e. Commitment of the P.I. and institution to the SCEC mission.
f. Value of the proposed research relative to its cost.
g. The need to achieve a balanced budget while maintaining a reasonable level of scientific
continuity given the very limited Center funding.
The recommendations of the PC were reviewed by the SCEC Board of Directors at a meeting on
February 3-4, 2008. The Board voted unanimously to accept the PC's recommendations, pending a
final review of the program by the Center Director, which was completed on February 26, 2008.
Communication, Education, and Outreach
Through its CEO Program, SCEC offers a wide range of student research experiences, web-based
education tools, classroom curricula, museum displays, public information brochures, online
newsletters, workshops, and technical publications. Highlights of CEO activities for the past year
are reported in the meeting volume by the Associate Director for CEO, Mark Benthien, who will
present an oral summary on Monday morning.
SCEC has led the development of the "Earthquake Country Alliance" (ECA), an umbrella
organization that includes earthquake scientists and engineers, preparedness experts, response and
recovery officials, news media representatives, community leaders, and education specialists. The
ECA has become our primary framework for developing partnerships, products, and services for
the general public. SCEC has erected and maintained the ECA web portal
(www.earthquakecountry.info.), which provides multimedia information about living in earthquake
country, answers to frequently asked questions, and descriptions of other resources and services
provided by ECA members. In 2007, ECA organized the Dare to Prepare campaign, marking the
150 th anniversary of the Ft. Tejon earthquake. It encouraged Southern Californians to “talk about
our faults,” to understand that "Shift Happens," and to "Secure Your Space" in order to protect
yourself, your family, and your property (see www.daretoprepare.org).
In the past year, the major focus of the ECA and the SCEC/CEO programs has been the
organization of the Great Southern California ShakeOut, a week of special events featuring the
largest earthquake drill in U.S. history. At 10 a.m. on November 13, 2008, millions of southern
Californians will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” to practice what to do when a major earthquake
happens. ShakeOut is based on a potential 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the southern San Andreas
fault. Dr. Lucy Jones of the USGS has led a group of over 300 scientists, engineers, and others to
study the likely consequences of this scenario (see Figure 2b). The ShakeOut exercises will be a
2008 SCEC Annual Meeting | 21