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Board of Directors
Thalia Anagnos - President Elect
Biography
Thalia Anagnos has been on the engineering faculty at San Jose State University (SJSU) since 1984. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and a B.A. in Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences from University of California, San Diego.
Anagnos joined EERI in 1982 while she was still a graduate student in an effort to gain insight into where the profession was headed, and was immediately "hooked." She has served on the EERI Board of Directors (1999-2002), as EERI Vice-President (2002), and currently serves on the editorial board of Earthquake Spectra and as EERI Newsletter editor. She organized the EERI Annual meeting in San Francisco in 1989, where she initiated the annual student paper competition to increase the involvement of students. She has been a speaker at EERI-sponsored seminars and served on several EERI committees. She was editor of the November 1997 Earthquake Spectra theme issue on loss estimation and is currently serving on the program committee for the 8th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering.
The focus of her research has been on seismic hazard and seismic risk assessment. Over the years, she has been involved in a number of projects to develop tools for assessing risks and losses including ATC-13, ATC-21, and HAZUS. She also has a strong interest in education and outreach and served as Chair of the NEES Education Outreach and Training Committee (EOTC). As Chair of EOTC, she spearheaded the development of the NEES Education, Outreach and Training Strategic Plan. She recently completed work on a statics textbook and is part of a four-member team of SJSU faculty working with local school districts to reform middle school science education.
Vision
As EERI enters 2006, stark contrasts point to a need for renewed emphasis on outreach, education, and advocacy. At the 100th Anniversary Conference commemorating the 1906 earthquake in April 2006, members of our community will be celebrating the enormous progress in risk reduction that has been made during the last century. In contrast, recent disasters in South Asia and New Orleans remind us that as societies we still are underprepared to deal with catastrophic events. The 2004 reauthorization of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program was a cause for celebration, providing funds and leadership to support the work of many individuals and agencies to reduce vulnerability to seismic events. Yet, a recent 30% cut in EERI's funding for the Learning From Earthquakes program impedes our ability to disseminate what has been learned from recent events. Since 1975, the California Seismic Safety Commission (SSC) has led hazard mitigation efforts that have resulted in improved program coordination, technical developments, and advances in California's seismic safety. Unfortunately, currently we find ourselves fighting to maintain the funding to support the SSC. These are but of few of the challenges facing EERI.
While EERI can point to many successes in education and dissemination through Earthquake Spectra, the reconnaissance activities and reports, and numerous other conferences and publications, the events of the last year make clear that our voice must be louder and more persuasive. In alignment with the 5-year plan, EERI should continue its role in championing research and supporting technical advancements, but also must expand its role in advocacy and outreach.
As advocates for hazard mitigation, we must continuously communicate our risk reduction message because the memories of citizens and politicians can be very short. The Northern California Chapter has demonstrated the power of connecting the membership with the media and local decision makers. We need to expand this model to other vulnerable regions of the United States and the world through our regional chapters and other region-specific groups.
EERI must continue to broaden our audience so that we are reaching beyond our own community. We have made great strides in strengthening our voice by developing strong ties with sister organizations in countries around the world. Through the development of stronger links with other natural hazards communities with whom we share many challenges, we can be more effective advocates for public education, research, and funding.
In summary, EERI is a strong organization, which since its founding, has been a leader in learning from earthquakes. As we move forward, we must continue to implement strategies to more effectively share the knowledge we have gained to reach EERI's goal of a world with reduced earthquake losses.
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Board of Directors