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Email: eeri@eeri.org
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April 1, 2026
NEWS OF THE INSTITUTE
New Gift from Vilas and Ingrid Mujumdar
EERI is deeply grateful to announce a significant gift of $350,000 from the estate of Vilas and Ingrid Mujumdar. Vilas Mujumdar, an EERI member since 1994, was a private consultant and retired National Science Foundation (NSF) senior executive who managed and oversaw many programs related to earthquake risk reduction. Read more about Vilas Mujumdar and this gift to EERI.
“Vilas Mujumdar had a distinguished professional career exemplified by engineering and administrative leadership in support of earthquake engineering,” remembers UC Berkeley Professor and EERI Honorary Member, Jack Moehle. “My early interactions with Vilas were when he was a program director with NSF providing administrative oversight and programmatic guidance for the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center as we worked to develop educational and research programs in support of earthquake engineering. Vilas approached his oversight tasks with creative technical ideas, encouragement, and always a friendly smile. We became good friends over the years. The generosity of Vilas and his wife Ingrid by their gift to EERI is remarkable but not surprising in light of his long-standing commitment to earthquake engineering and risk reduction.”
In March 2026, the EERI Board of Directors decided to use some of this gift in 2026 to foster the career growth of our early career members. In particular, EERI offered more than 40 early career applicants a “Vilas and Ingrid Mujumdar Early Career 13NCEE Participation Grant” to attend the upcoming 13th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering. EERI will also list “Vilas and Ingrid Mujumdar” as our anchor supporters for the 2026 Learning from Earthquakes Travel Study Trip to Taiwan, using some of their gift to defray some costs and keep registration fees affordable for the many deserving early career participants selected for this transformational experience.
The Board continues to explore and consider other uses of the remaining funds, but is committed to ensuring that this generous gift furthers our mission, supports the long term health of EERI, and fosters our early career members.
“EERI is committed to ensuring the best possible use of this gift in ways that celebrate the life, work and legacy of Vilas and Ingrid Mujumdar,” said EERI Board President Ellen Rathje. “I was fortunate to have interacted with Vilas early in my career when he was at NSF. He clearly had a passion to support research that would minimize the impacts of earthquakes, and that is exactly what this gift will help realize.”
“Bequests, like this one from the Mujumdars, are critically important to ensure the sustainability of our long term mission,” Rathje continued. “This gift has given us financial flexibility to dream big and ensure our new strategic initiatives can take hold and serve our members in essential ways. I sincerely appreciate the incredible generosity of Vilas and Ingrid, and the support of all donors, who consider EERI in their estate planning.”
If you are interested in building a lasting legacy at EERI and ensuring more resilient communities today and in the future, there are many different ways that you can support our mission as a donor—learn more here or contact EERI’s Executive Director Heidi Tremayne to discuss your own legacy gift.
Back to top >13NCEE
13NCEE Sponsorship and Exhibit Booths Still Available
Is your organization or company looking for increased exposure to the earthquake engineering and risk reduction community? There are many options still available to sponsor the 13NCEE and 2026 Seismic Design Competition (SDC) or host a booth in our 13NCEE Exhibit Hall, with tiered options designed to meet any budget!
Join more than 30 top companies like Computers and Structures, Inc., Atlas Tube, DuraFuse Frames, Dynamic Isolation Systems, Earthquake Protection Systems, Hilti North America, Boise Cascade, Kinemetrics, Maurer, Lindapter, PYTHON Fasteners, Simpson StrongTie, and many more who have signed up and are already realizing exposure.
Contact EERI Executive Director, Heidi Tremayne, at Heidi@eeri.org to get more information and express your interest.
Enhance your 13NCEE Experience – Register for a Tour or Workshop!
Planning your schedule for the 13NCEE? Don’t miss the opportunity to enhance your conference experience by adding a tour or workshop to your registration.
The conference tours and workshops offer opportunities for in-depth engagement on a range of topics relevant to earthquake engineering research, practice, policy, and career development. These pre and post conference events are designed to complement the technical program by providing interactive formats that facilitate discussion, knowledge exchange, and skill development. These tours and workshops include:
- Oregon State University Tour
- Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub Boat Tour
- Earthquake Ground Motion Simulation Validation & Utilization for Engineering Applications
- Using NHERI RAPID Instrumentation in Natural Hazards Reconnaissance
- Nonstructural Fragility Database Development Hackathon
- An Insider’s Guide to Peer Review: Getting Published in Earthquake Spectra and Beyond
- Future opportunities for NEHRP: A Workshop to Advance National Legislation for Earthquake Risk Reduction
- Securing Your Dream Job Position: Academic and Industry Hiring Workshops
Visit the 13NCEE website to learn more about these tours and workshops. Participation is LIMITED for some events, so register SOON!
If you have already registered and would like to modify your registration to include one of the tours or workshops, follow the instructions here.
Book your 13NCEE Hotel Stay Today
Now is the perfect time to create your travel arrangements and book your hotel for the 13NCEE. Before finalizing your travel dates, be sure to check out the Schedule at a Glance and conference Tours and Workshops.
EERI encourages you to stay at the conference headquarters hotel, the Hyatt Regency. This will allow you to take full advantage of the conference networking opportunities and ensure the shortest walk to the conference venue at the Oregon Convention Center. Rooms are STILL available exclusively through EERI’s room block, so you must book using our special link. Rooms are limited, so book soon.
| Special Booking Link for Hyatt Regency |
LEARNING FROM EARTHQUAKES
VERT Volunteer Call
EERI is excited to announce that Sabine Loos, University of Michigan, and Andrew Makdisi, USGS, are the new Co-Chairs of the Learning from Earthquakes Virtual Earthquake Reconnaissance Team (VERT).
EERI thanks founding VERT Co-Chairs Erica Fischer, Oregon State University, and Manny Hakhamaneshi, CA High-Speed Rail Authority, for their leadership of VERT since 2016. Under their leadership, hundreds of VERT volunteers contributed to over 35 VERT responses. VERT reports have served to inform LFE earthquake responses and informed the EERI membership of immediate earthquake impacts. VERT reports can be accessed in the LFE earthquake active.
If you would like to participate in EERI’s response to earthquakes, VERT is a great way to contribute! Sign up as a VERT volunteer by completing the interest form.
Back to top >SPECTRA
February 2026 Issue of Earthquake Spectra
The Febuary 2026 issue (Volume 42, Issue 1) of Earthquake Spectra is now available at the new website, hosted by Wiley! Members get full access to read and download all articles, see member log-in instructions at our FAQ page.
The Editor’s Choice paper is “An Extended and Updated Strong Ground-Motion Database for the Chilean Subduction Earthquakes” by Nicolás Bastías, Gonzalo Montalva, Felipe Leyton, Pablo Heresi, Horacio Domínguez.
Back to top >FIGURE 6: Distribution of events by tectonic type (upper panel) and
cross-sectional views at three selected latitudes (lower panel).
WEBINARS
Now Available: Quick Quake Briefing Webinar Recording
On March 19, 2026, EERI’s Northern California Chapter hosted a Quick Quake Briefing Webinar on the M6.5 Guerrero, Mexico Earthquake. In the webinar, Dr. Leonardo Ramírez, UNAM, provided an overview of the seismological characteristics of the event and the observed impacts on the built environment and Dr. Héctor Guerrero, UNAM, described the effects in Mexico City, with emphasis on basin response and ground-motion amplification. The webinar recording is available on EERI’s YouTube Channel.
2026 EERI Annual Business Meeting
| REGISTER HERE |
April 2, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Pacific Time
EERI's 2026 Annual Business Meeting will be held via Zoom webinar on Thursday, April 2 at 12:00 PM PT. EERI President Elect Ellen Rathje, Secretary/Treasurer Keith Knudsen, and Executive Director Heidi Tremayne will present on EERI's activities and achievements in 2025 and discuss plans for the future. All EERI members may register to attend the meeting.
Back to top >REGIONAL CHAPTERS
New Regional Chapter Leadership
Elections for new Board Members were completed in January-February 2026 for the EERI Northern California and San Diego Chapters. New Board Members are:
2026 Board of Directors EERI Northern California Chapter:
- President: Sarah Atkinson
- Secretary/Treasurer: Mohamed Talaat
- Director: Tracy Becker
- Director: Luis Ceferino
- Director: Saeed Fathali
- Director: Tal Feinstein
- Director: Bahareh Heidarzadeh
- Director: Laurel Mathews
- Director: Katerina Ziotopoulou
2026 Board of Directors EERI San Diego California Chapter:
- President: Hamid Sarmadi
- Vice-President: Jalal Fatemi
- Secretary/Treasurer: Taylor Gater
- Director of Lifelong Learning: Jorge Meneses
- Director of Outreach: Kristen Chang
- Director of Creative Design: Tasneem Sadeque
EERI also wants to extend our thanks to the retiring officers Dick McCarthy (EERI NC President 2023 - 2025), Volkan Sevilgen (EERI NC President 2021 - 2022 and Past President 2023 - 2025), Bruce Maison (EERI NC Secretary/Treasurer 2019 - 2025), Emel Seyhan (EERI NC Director 2021 - 2024), Mehmet Unal (EERI NC Director 2019 - 2023), Donald Wells (EERI NC Director 2019 - 2025), Janna Bonfiglio (EERI SD 2018-2026, President 2025), and Alvaro Celestino (EERI SD 2012-2024, President 2023-2024).
If you are in these regions and want to get involved, please reach out to one of these chapter officers directly! You can view the chapter officers and their contact information in the EERI member directory by clicking the “details” button in the chapter listing.
Back to top >ANNOUNCEMENTS
CRESCENT Seed Grant Announcement
The Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center (CRESCENT) has announced the 2026-27 CRESCENT Seed Grant Program. Any researchers in the US who are part of an institution or organization that is eligible for regular National Science Foundation funding are invited to apply. Their goal is to broaden community participation and increase the breadth of scientific investigations related to the center’s scientific goals.
Please visit the CRESCENT website to review the request for proposals and to apply. The deadline for applications is Friday, May 15, 2026.
Reach out to cascadiaquakes@uoregon.edu with any questions.
Shah Family Distinguished Lecture at Stanford University
Attend a timely and important lecture by Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the UNDRR. Drawing on nearly three decades of experience across government, the United Nations, and civil society, Kishore will present a global overview of today's increasingly complex disaster landscape and the actions needed to build collective resilience. The lecture will take place on May 8, 2026 at 12pm (noon) in Bishop Auditorium, Lathrop Library at Stanford University, followed by a lunch reception. Please register via the link below to assist in planning.
| Register Here |
For more information, see the Shah Family Distinguished Lecture Announcement.
Back to top >SUBSCRIBING MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Welcome New Silver Member: Hilti North America
EERI is excited to welcome Hilti North America as a new Silver Tier Subscribing Member for 2026!
Hilti is a world‑leading provider of high‑quality, innovative, and specialized fastening and fire suppression systems, tools, and software‑based engineering solutions. With more than 3,800 highly trained employees including engineers, specialists, and account managers throughout North America, Hilti’s expertise spans anchoring, powder‑actuated fastening, strut and hanger systems, firestopping, drilling, demolition, coring, cutting, measuring, solutions for jobsite productivity, and worker health and safety. Hilti maintains an enduring history of sponsoring research studying earthquake effects on structures, supporting practical industry approaches for accurately and economically addressing seismic demands on structural and nonstructural elements.
Back to top >NEWS OF THE PROFESSION
Links to Recent News and Views
- Thailand introduces AI-enabled disaster warning system (Bangkok Post)
- New funds for early earthquake alerts moving forward (The Cordova Times)