Welcome to the Oregon Hazards Lab
Using Science, Technology, and Community Engagement to Understand, Detect, and Mitigate Multi-Hazards within the Pacific NorthwestSupport the Oregon Hazards Lab!
The Oregon State Legislature is considering a bill that would provide state funding to our program. This bill would help OHAZ continue monitoring natural disasters and delivering life-saving alerts to Oregonians.
223+
PNSN Seismic Monitoring Stations Across Oregon
63+
OHAZ Wildfire Detection Cameras Across Oregon
4.2Mil
Oregonians With Access to ShakeAlert EEW Alerts
2018
Year OHAZ Was Founded
26
OHAZ Staff
7
Student Researchers
Work at the Oregon Hazards Lab
We are hiring a Data & Devices Specialist to coordinate, configure, and administer our digital processes and devices with an emphasis on upkeep of real-time data and field operations.
The Oregon Hazards Lab is a program within the University of Oregon's Department of Earth Sciences. We currently partner in these efforts:
Mobile Deployment Units
The Oregon Hazards Lab is building out a stock of lightweight portable wildfire camera kits that public land management agencies can rapidly deploy to monitor new ignitions.
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
Along with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Washington, we monitor ground motion to better understand earthquake and volcano hazards and their impacts on communities in Oregon and Washington.
ShakeAlert® Earthquake Early Warning System
Since 2014, the Oregon Hazards Lab has been an instrumental partner in building and promoting the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake early warning system.
Wildfire Detection Cameras
With hundreds of mountaintop cameras installed throughout the western United States, this high-speed wildfire detection network provides firefighters and first responders a new way to spot and track wildfires.
Wildfire Smoke Sensors
As part of a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, we deployed 30 smoke sensors across Western Oregon in 2023 and tested their effectiveness at detecting emerging wildfires.
Sage Continuum
We are building a continent-spanning network of smart sensors to improve the flow of information between scientists and the natural world.
News from the Oregon Hazards Lab
Office of the Vice President of Research and Innovation: Research Transforms Us
For close to 150 years, the University of Oregon has powered American progress. Across Oregon, research strengthens the systems that keep communities safe and prepares us for natural disasters. Protecting education and investing in research is about protecting the future we all share. Today, that future is challenged due to recent and proposed cuts to federal research funding that could dramatically slow the pace of scientific progress.
Queen of the Mountain: Building Hazard Resilience
Whether she’s scaling 150-foot towers or testifying before legislators, Sydney Whiting is helping to revolutionize wildfire and earthquake detection in Oregon. As a field technician for the Oregon Hazards Lab, the College of Arts and Sciences alum installs and maintains the seismic sensors, network infrastructure and cameras that provide real-time hazard monitoring throughout Oregon.
How the UO College of Arts and Sciences is Addressing Climate Change
The urgency of climate change can’t be overstated. Hear from Tykeson Dean of Arts and Sciences Dean Chris Poulsen—who’s also a climatologist whose work is focused on understanding the planet’s climate variability from the deep geologic past to the future—about how the College of Arts and Sciences is responding to climate change.