News from the Oregon Hazards Lab

Oregon faces complex challenges, from the risk of a megathrust earthquake to the growing impact of wildfires. OHAZ is implementing transformative solutions to these problems, driven by scientific research, technological innovation, and community engagement. We are co-evolving alongside the University of Oregon through Oregon Rising, the university’s strategic plan for the next decade. Oregon Rising will help to accelerate the university’s impact on our students, our state, our nation, and the world.

The latest edition of the quarterly Oregon Hazards Lab newsletter has arrived! We share more information about several exciting new projects, including deploying new wildfire cameras at the wildland-urban interface in Southwest Oregon and expanding our suite of rapid-response camera kits. We also update you on our plans for the upcoming field season and licensed alert deliver partners for the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System.

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.

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.

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.

An alert from the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System can buy you life-saving seconds to protect yourself before dangerous shaking arrives. But in Oregon, where most earthquakes are minor enough to go unnoticed, how well-prepared are people to make the most of these precious seconds? University of Oregon research will improve families’ effectiveness at responding to earthquake early-warning alerts.