Session Abstract
We all know that a significant, damaging earthquake will strike a major California city—perhaps Berkeley, perhaps Los Angeles—in the coming years. Yet, most of us practice a form of cognitive dissonance, pushing the threat aside to focus on more immediate concerns. If society is largely unprepared, who is building the safeguards for the "Big One," and how can technology bridge the gap?
In this lecture, we explore the frontiers of seismic resilience through the rapid proliferation of ubiquitous sensors. By leveraging the power of global smartphone networks and dense environmental sensing, we are transforming how we detect and respond to seismic shifts in real-time. I will demonstrate how we now provide life-saving warnings seconds before the shaking starts and how these same technologies allow us to interrogate the structural integrity of buildings—potentially identifying critical damage before a collapse occurs. Discover how the device in your pocket is becoming a vital tool in our mission to outsmart the earthquake cycle.
Speaker Bio
Richard Allen is the Director of the Berkeley Seismology Lab and the Class of 1954 Endowed Professor in the Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley. A leading voice in global seismic safety, he also serves as a member of the Earthquake Team at Google.
As a seismologist, his research interests span deep Earth structure, the earthquake source, and hazard reduction through societal engagement. His group uses seismic imaging techniques to constrain dynamic processes at tectonic boundaries, and his focus on real-time seismology has led to the development of earthquake early warning systems now used around the globe. He links scientific and technological advances to practical, societally-relevant hazard reduction, including through the development of the smartphone-based citizen-science oriented MyShake network.
His work with the Android Earthquake Alerting System—recognized as a "Top 10 Breakthrough" of 2025 by PhysicsWorld—has scaled Berkeley-born science to billions of users globally. His research is frequently featured in Nature, Science, The New York Times, and other media outlets bridging the gap between complex geophysics and public safety.