A day after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on July 4 rattled Southern California, a small team of UCLA Civil and Environmental Engineering earthquake engineers and scientists was already near its epicenter, in Ridgecrest, California, gathering time-sensitive data.
The team is part of the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association, which is supported by the National Science Foundation. The initial seven-member team was organized by Jonathan Stewart, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCLA. Other UCLA members of the reconnaissance team included Professor Scott Brandenberg, and graduate student Pengfei Wang, as well as UCLA alumni Sean Ahdi, of the engineering and scientific consulting firm Exponent, and Christine Goulet, of the Southern California Earthquake Center. More researchers joined the team in subsequent days including UCLA post-doctoral researcher Buka Nweke.
Stewart answered a few questions about what the team does in the field. For his interview, and to see photos and read more, please go to: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-engineers-in-the-field-after-major-california-earthquakes
To best prepare for an earthquake, visit the many resources available online including: https://www.scec.org/learn.