The massive earthquake that rocked central Chile on February 28, 2010 was similar in many respects to what scientists say we might expect from "the big one" that has been predicted for some time for Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. How was Chile able to survive such a major event with relatively little loss of life compared to the death toll of the much smaller earthquake in Haiti only weeks before?  And what is in store for us in the Pacific Northwest? What can we do to prepare?

Join Scott Ashford, head of the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Oregon State University, at a Science Pub on Tuesday, November 16 at McMenamins in Bend, when he looks at these questions and examines how to keep people and property safe during earthquakes.

Ashford, also a professor and researcher, visited Chile as a member of the international Chile Earthquake Reconnaissance Team sponsored by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.   Prior to joining OSU in 2007, he was on the faculty at the University of California San Diego and the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok. He spent seven years in private industry before earning his Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 1994. 

Ashford’s research interests focus on enhancing public safety and reducing potential economic loss worldwide from earthquake and coastal hazards through cross-disciplinary research in earthquake and coastal engineering. His latest efforts are targeted at improving the resilience of our lifelines in Oregon to better withstand attack from the Cascadia Subduction Zone.  The Cascadia Subduction Zone shifts abruptly every 300 to 400 years or so, and the next time it does, experts predict destruction and dislocation from the Pacific shoreline inland to Portland and the Willamette Valley. A tsunami could follow in the earthquake’s wake.

This Science Pub takes place from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.  Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for networking and food and beverage service, and the presentation begins at 6:00 p.m.  Science Pubs are sponsored by OSU-Cascades and are free and open to community members.  Participants are invited to RSVP at info@osucascades.edu or 541-322-3100.  For information call 541-322-3100.