What Is the Southern California Earthquake Center?

On February 11, Congressman George E. Brown, Jr., Chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, together with the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and state and local officials, helped inaugurate the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) on the campus of the University of Southern California. SCEC is one of 14 new NSF Science and Technology Centers and includes a substantial commitment from the USGS for FY91. The center is a consortium of seven core academic institutions-USC (coordinating institution), Caltech, Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of California at Santa Cruz, and University of California at San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography-in partnership with the USGS's Office of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Engineering (OEVE). The center grew out of an April 3-5, 1989, workshop at Lake Arrowhead, Calif., convened by the USGS to discuss the need for an expanded effort in earthquake research in southern California.