Candidate Statements
SSA 2012 Board of Directors

David Wald

U.S. Geological Survey

Principal fields: earthquake source, historic earthquakes, strong ground motions, wave propagation, realtime seismology, macroseismic seismology, earthquake impact assessment, earthquake response.

I’ve always considered that the Annual Meeting of the Seismological Society of America has been one of the most important scientific venues in my academic life and for my professional career. As such a beneficiary, I would be pleased to continue to give back to the Society in the capacity of Board Director, for a second term. As an ardent member of our Society, I strive to achieve a holistic view of the earthquake problem. From such a vantage point, it is clear that many different research, coordination, publication, and advocacy roles of the Society have important contributions to the overall success of the seismological community as well as to our mission of reducing the impact of earthquakes. As a member of the Board, I will continue to make a good-hearted effort to maintain an informed view of the range of research, professional, and user-community interactions so as to keep the Society’s business moving forward smoothly and to advocate its vision to promote earthquake science.

Dominic Assimaki

Georgia Institute of Technology

Principal fields: Nonlinear site response, soil-structure interaction, topography effects, numerical modeling in geotechnical engineering

As a geotechnical engineer working at the interface of strong motion seismology and earthquake engineering, my research focuses on bridging the gap between the two disciplines by promoting the implementation of seismological research advancements in engineering practice and contributing to the integration of geotechnical knowledge into ground-motion predictive models. The Seismological Society of America has been a unique venue for my research growth; outstanding meetings, high-quality publications, and an enthusiastic community that inspires earthquake scientists and engineers to interact, exchange ideas, and work in collaboration rather than in parallel. I am honored to stand for election for the Board of Directors of the Seismological Society of America, and if elected, I will work to further strengthen the ties between the engineering and seismological communities, and promote interdisciplinary research initiatives that have become an integral part of our efforts to address the hazard mitigation challenges of the future.

Jessica R. Murray-Moraleda

U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park

Principal fields: Crustal deformation modeling, application of space geodetic techniques for earthquake response, transient deformation detection

To remain at the forefront of an evolving field, promote seismological research, and contribute to improved mitigation of earthquake effects, SSA must maintain an interdisciplinary and global perspective. As a geophysicist who uses space-geodetic data to study earthquakes, I see recent advances in jointly using geodetic and seismic data as a good example of interdisciplinary science furthering basic research and mitigation strategies. Similarly, an international research response that leverages the best observational and analytical resources is required to learn from earthquakes, regardless of where they occur. Special issues of SSA journals and meeting sessions targeting specific events foster these activities by encouraging new people to connect with SSA (as they did for me). However, involving a broader range of earthquake scientists and other professionals in meeting planning and better communicating the breadth of research targeted by SSA’s publications will further solidify interdisciplinary and international participation. I am enthusiastic about contributing to these efforts. If elected I will draw on my experience as a member of UNAVCO’s Education and Outreach committee and leader of SCEC’s Tectonic Geodesy disciplinary group in working to increase SSA’s impact on basic and applied research and on effective communication of findings to policy-makers and the public.

Robert Graves

U.S. Geological Survey Pasadena

Principal Fields: strong motion seismology, earthquake rupture characterization, seismic hazard assessment

The Seismological Society of America was formed following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake with the goals of promoting earthquake research and providing an organizational framework for disseminating this information to the general public. As the Society enters its second century, these goals are still paramount; however, the Society’s role in pursuing these goals has had to become much more proactive. We must continue these efforts and promote the proactive use of science in general, and earthquake science in particular, by communicating information to and interacting with other organizations. These organizations include other scientific and engineering bodies (e.g., AGU, EERI, GSA), emergency preparedness organizations (both public and private), funding agencies, and the general public. At its foundation, the Society must continue to support the dissemination of peerreviewed scientific information through its journals, and these journals must continue to evolve as the nature of information exchange continues to change in our digital world. Also, the Society must continue to explore ways in which its members can interact with other organizations on a more formal basis. As a continuing member of the SSA Board of Directors, I will work toward these objectives.

William U. (Woody) Savage

USGS Earthquake Science Center and University of Nevada Las Vegas

Principal Fields: Seismic hazards evaluations, seismic risk management for lifelines and other critical facilities, seismic monitoring

I am honored to be nominated to serve a second term on the Board of Directors. During my first term on the Board and now as Vice-President of SSA, I gained great appreciation for the intrinsic strength and outstanding value of SSA as a professional organization that facilitates the success of its members through its excellent publications and wellattended innovative meetings, both improved by international involvement and interdisciplinary connections. I see three areas for special attention of the Board in the coming several years: 1) Develop an enhanced role of public information and advocacy regarding current earthquake issues and their implications for government policies on seismic risk reduction at regional to international levels (e.g., AAAS and AGU have increased their science advocacy roles); 2) Advance the international exchange of hazard and risk knowledge through jointly sponsored multidisciplinary meetings and publications and sharing public advocacy for cooperation in seismic risk reduction; and 3) Increase involvement of seismic hazards practitioners in SSA as members and with SSA as promoters of improves earthquake risk reduction—our publications and meetings are prime venues for new techniques and case histories to bring professional recognition and growth to practitioners as authors (and possibly new corporate members).

Steven M. Day

San Diego State University

Principal fields: Earthquake dynamics, computational seismology, strong ground motion

It has been a pleasure serving SSA as a director for the past three years, and I would be happy to continue for a second term if elected. I take a particular interest in the quality and breadth of our publications, and I have been a member of the Publications Committee throughout my tenure as a director. The Society needs to continue to seek measures, large and small, that will enhance the inclusiveness of BSSA and promote it as a forum of choice for publishing research across the full spectrum of earthquake science. This includes measures to encourage contributions at the key disciplinary interfaces, including those with earthquake geology, rock mechanics, applied mathematics and computational sciences. Also of special interest to me are the relationships between the SSA membership community and the emergency response, public policy, and engineering communities. Finally, a growing number of national policy debates intersect SSA’s domain of technical expertise, and the Board has the delicate role of deciding when the Society should speak out to improve the factual basis of that discourse. I think that role can occasionally be used constructively, an example being our joint statement with AGU some years ago addressing seismic treaty verification.