Director
Biography
Ivan Wong is a principal seismologist and vice president of URS Corporation in Oakland, California. He has more than 36 years of experience in the fields of engineering seismology and seismic geology.
A major focus in his career has been earthquake hazard reduction and awareness, and public outreach. At URS, Ivan has directed the seismic hazard evaluations of more than 300 critical and important facilities worldwide, mostly for the federal government. He has managed some of the largest seismic hazard evaluations performed in the U.S., including the Yucca Mountain Project, the largest such study ever performed. For FEMA, Ivan has been involved in the education and implementation of HAZUS in several areas in the U.S. He has been the recipient of numerous NEHRP external research grants from the USGS that have supported the development of urban probabilistic and scenario hazard maps and other earthquake hazard-related studies.
Ivan has also been particularly active in serving the USGS on many review and advisory panels including the review panel for the 1996 National Seismic Hazard Maps. Ivan has been, and is currently, a member of numerous professional review panels, working groups, and committees in engineering and the earth sciences. He chairs the recently formed Working Group on Utah Earthquake Probabilities. Ivan has authored or co-authored more than 300 professional publications including journal papers, map series, conference papers, and published abstracts.
Ivan has been a member of EERI since 1976. He has been a speaker at numerous EERI annual meetings and technical symposiums and was a member of the 2006 and 2010 annual meeting organizing committees. He is a past president of the Northern California Chapter and past member of the Earthquake Spectra Editorial Board. He chaired the steering committee for EERI’s NEHRP-sponsored “Earthquake Scenarios” Project, is on the organizing committee for the first China/U.S. Symposium for the Advancement of Earthquake Sciences and Hazard Mitigation Practices, and has served on other EERI committees. Ivan has also been an active member and has served in several capacities for the Seismological Society of America.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Ivan received a BS in physics from Oregon State University, a BS in geology from Portland State University, and a MS in geophysics from the University of Utah.
Vision
For more than three decades, I have had the opportunity and pleasure to participate in the growth of EERI and to observe the organization work toward its goals as described in the EERI Vision Statement. I believe the success and effectiveness of EERI has been a function of its leadership and a dedicated core of individuals. For the organization to grow and improve its effectiveness both within the U.S. and internationally, it must expand its membership. For several years, the number of members has remained about the same at 2,300. In the 2006 EERI Strategic Plan, the target membership was 3,000 by 2010. If elected to the Board, one of my top priorities for EERI will be to help it grow and increase its influence worldwide. I support the recent move to increase international membership by offering an E-affiliate membership to individuals in selected countries. To date, however, only 12 individuals have taken advantage of this offer. I would make this a priority and work toward international expansion.
Growth within the U.S. should also be encouraged. EERI has an associate program with the Seismological Society of America. We should also explore the possibility of offering associate membership to other organizations such as ASCE. I would bring this issue to the attention of the Board and help lead the effort if deemed appropriate.
I believe that EERI needs to be more effective at the community level. As past president of the Northern California Chapter, I helped lead grassroots efforts in earthquake hazard mitigation in the San Francisco Bay area and therefore understand how local chapters can be effective. Thus, another of my priorities will be to work with EERI members in other areas across the U.S. to establish new or strengthen existing local chapters. I can envision new EERI chapters in Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Reno-Carson City, Las Vegas, and Denver.
In summary, my participation in EERI activities on a local and national level has been the highlight of my career. I hope to serve EERI further on the Board of Directors, and I would be honored to have your vote.
