Members of the YMC are active participants in the earthquake engineering community, representing varied areas of expertise, employment sectors, and regions internationally. Members of the YMC donate their time to help shape the future of earthquake engineering. We value ideas from all members and strive to maintain an inclusive and collaborative environment. Committee members are academics and professionals, less than five years removed from their most recent degree (BS, MS, or PhD) or younger than 35 years in age.
Current YMC Chairs
Cristina Cordova-Arias is the Program Director of Civil Engineering at Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru. She has worked on a World Bank project about structural-upgrading policy-making for school buildings and participated in the EERI Learning From Earthquakes in New Zealand. Her research focuses on developing innovative people-centered, engineering-based decision-support tools that facilitate earthquake-safe buildings. Cristina is a big believer that education transforms lives. She recently founded an initiative to encourage low-income and first-generation students to reach higher education in Peru.
Polly Murray is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She earned her PhD in structural engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2021. Her research focuses on seismic risk of concrete and wood structures built outside of engineered design and regulation. Polly is a past co-president of the Student Leadership Council and looks forward to fostering mentorship among the next generation of earthquake engineers.
Renmin Pretell is an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. Renmin holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of California, Davis, and a B.S. in civil engineering from the National University of Engineering (UNI). Renmin worked as a consulting engineer with Golder Associates, and as a postdoctoral scholar with the University of California, Los Angeles. Renmin’s research aims to advance the performance assessment of geotechnical systems by integrating data, analytics, and numerical simulations, and his interests include site response, ground motions, soil liquefaction, and mine tailings.
General Committee Roster
Click here to view the current active committee roster
