Humans have been trying to predict when earthquakes will happen for centuries, with little success, by developing earthquake detectors and by wondering if unusual animal behavior could be a sign of an incoming temblor.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Eric Dunham (https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A//profiles.stanford.edu/eric-dunham&data=05%7C01%7C%7C3d0cce7542dc4284762508da4b3e9a4d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637905029503761286%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=/1n7fxBp16mApTHr9DYBs55nDVHHp4tVaQdg583Vj4w%3D&reserved=0), a geophysicist at Stanford University, explains that while we’re still unable to predict when earthquakes will happen, advanced computers and new sensors on the seafloor are pushing the field of natural-hazard modelling forward and providing new information about the nature of earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes. Dunham and host, bioengineer Russ Altman (https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A//profiles.stanford.edu/russ-altman&data=05%7C01%7C%7C3d0cce7542dc4284762508da4b3e9a4d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637905029503761286%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=jC7cK6NajyHEc5yl6id0ciAhWupEr1VHpZYkTwQTbzw%3D&reserved=0), discuss how this modeling could help us understand where large earthquakes and tsunamis are likely to happen – and how it could help us prepare for these potentially devastating events. 

Related: Eric Dunham (https://profiles.stanford.edu/eric-dunham), associate professor of geophysics.

Related: Russ Altman (https://profiles.stanford.edu/russ-altman), the Kenneth Fong Professor of Bioengineering, of genetics, of medicine (general medical discipline), of biomedical data science and, by courtesy, of computer science.