SCEC’s Communication, Education, and Outreach (CEO) program creates and delivers information and resources to the general public, government agencies, the broader geoscience community, engineers, students, businesses, and the media. SCEC CEO addresses the third element of SCEC’s mission: Communicate understanding of earthquake phenomena to the world at large as useful knowledge for reducing earthquake risk and improving community resilience.

SCEC CEO is organized into four interconnected thrust areas:

• Implementation Interface: connects SCEC scientists with partners in earthquake engineering research, and communicates with and trains practicing engineers and other professionals;
• Public Education and Preparedness: educates people of all ages about earthquakes, and motivates them to become prepared;
• K-14 Earthquake Education Initiative: seeks to improve earth science education and school earthquake safety; and
• Experiential Learning and Career Advancement: provides research opportunities, networking, and more to encourage and sustain careers in science and engineering.

To learn more, download an Overview of the SCEC CEO Program (10.4 MB PDF)

Implementation Interface

The implementation of SCEC research for practical purposes depends on effective interactions with engineering researchers and organizations, and with practicing engineers, building officials, insurers, utilities, emergency managers, and other technical users of earthquake information. These are most effective as partnerships towards common objectives, although trainings, tools, and other resources are also needed.

• SCEC's interactions with research partners is coordinated by the Earthquake Engineering Implementation Interface (EEII) Interdisciplinary Focus area.
• More coming soon.

Public Education and Preparedness

This thrust area spans a suite of partnerships, activities, and products for educating the public about earthquake science and motivating them to become prepared for earthquakes and tsunamis.

• Earthquake Country Alliance: Public-private partnership led by SCEC
  
• Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills: Coordinated globally by SCEC
  
• ECA EPIcenter (Education and Public Information Center) Network: Museums, Parks, Libraries and other venues for learning about earthquakes
  
• Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country: Booklets for many regions for learning about earthquake hazards and safety recommendations)
  
• Recent earthquakes
  
• Historical Earthquakes in Southern California
  
• Clickable Fault Map of Southern California
  

K-14 Earthquake Education Initiative

The primary goal of this Initiative is to educate and prepare California students for living in earthquake country. This includes improved standards-based earth science education as well as broadened preparedness training. SCEC facilitates learning experiences and materials for use with real earthquakes and Great ShakeOut drills, and develops learning materials that complement traditional standards-based instruction with regional and current earthquake information. Teacher workshops introduce these resources to educators at all levels, and include follow-up activities over the long-term to help implement the content.

• Earthquake Country: Los Angeles online kit
• Plate Tectonics PuzzleMap
• ShakeOut Curricular Resources
• Investigating Earthquakes through Regional Seismicity Education Module
• Exploring the Use of Space Technology in Earthquake Studies Education Module
• Additional resources and activity descriptions coming soon.

Experiential Learning and Career Advancement

The SCEC Experiential Learning and Career Advancement (ELCA) program seeks to enhance the competency and diversity of the STEM workforce by facilitating career advancement pathways that (1) engage students in STEM-based research experiences at each stage of their academic careers, and (2) provide exposure and leadership opportunities to students and early career scientists that engage them in the SCEC Community and support them across key transitions (undergraduate to graduate school, etc.).

• SCEC Internship Program Overview
  
• SCEC Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE)
  
• Undergraduate Studies in Earthquake Information Technology (USEIT)