Baise delivers Joyner Lecture

3/20/2025

Laurie Baise, Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, successfully delivered the Joyner Lecture to the New England Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute in Boston on March 14, 2025 and to the Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting in Baltimore on April 16, 2025.

In her talk, Baise explored the rewards and challenges of working at the intersection of geology, seismology, and earthquake engineering. She highlighted her contributions to developing geospatial liquefaction and site effects models for both global and regional applications. She also discussed the key challenges that shaped her research, including the motivations behind her geological and geospatial approaches to assessing liquefaction risk.

Ultimately, her lecture underscored the importance of bridging the gap between earthquake engineers and earthquake scientists to enhance disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts.

2/28/2025 

Baise selected as 2025 Joyner Lecturer

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and the Seismological Society of America (SSA) have selected Laurie Baise, Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, as the recipient of the 2025 William B. Joyner Lecture Award. Baise will deliver the Joyner lecture at Verisk Extreme Event Solutions, located at Lafayette City Center, on March 13, 2025. Additionally, Baise will present the lecture at the SSA Annual Meeting in April 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland, and at the 13th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering in July 2026 in Portland, Oregon. 

Baise’s lecture, titled “Risk and Reward: Working at the Boundaries of Earthquake Science,” will explore her pioneering research at the intersection of geology, seismology, and earthquake engineering. She is recognized for bridging gaps between earthquake scientists and engineers through innovative approaches such as geospatial proxies for site effects and liquefaction, as well as regionally informed hazard models. 

A leader in the field, Baise's work spans earthquake site response, liquefaction, ground motion models, and seismic hazard mapping. Notably, her development of geospatial liquefaction modeling has revolutionized the way risks are mapped across large regions. The nominators noted that Baise has been a leader in adopting new techniques to improve earthquake science and engineering, such as machine learning and satellite imagery. Her contributions have influenced both earthquake monitoring systems and hazard modeling, including in the insurance industry. 

The William B. Joyner Memorial Lecture series honors William (Bill) Joyner’s exceptional career in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and his dedication to fostering collaboration between earthquake science and engineering. Lecturers are selected for their contributions at this intersection, whether through advancing earthquake science to inform engineering or applying engineering insights to enhance scientific understanding. The lectures, delivered at SSA and EERI Annual Meetings as well as other venues of the lecturer's choice, serve to unite scientists and engineers in efforts to improve global safety, reflecting Joyner’s own remarkable impact on the field. 

Learn more about Professor and Chair Laurie Baise.