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Center for Earthquake Research and Information
Strategic Plan 2007 – 2009

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CERI is poised for rapid growth and increased recognition. New hiring in core and emerging fields will improve existing areas of research and allow us to expand into a new focus area that takes advantage of large, federally funded research initiatives.  We are taking a leadership role in a major, collaborative effort to establish a deep borehole observatory in the active New Madrid seismic zone.  We are also expanding the Center’s role within the University and making critical changes internally that will insure that CERI takes full advantage of the opportunities for growth currently presented.  This is an exciting time for the Center that could lead to increased national stature in the areas of hazards and continental structure, funding opportunities, and interest in our graduate program.  Our strategic plan is concerned with three broad areas:

Our priorities reflect the synergistic interaction of each focus and the direction that we wish to travel in the face of unknown funding opportunities and future events that will affect the Center.  They are also made with the understanding that there are essential ongoing activities at the Center that will continue and that actions in one year will also continue to subsequent years.

STRATEGIC PLAN SUMMARY

External Focus

Priorities:

Critical Strategies:

University Focus

Priorities:

Critical Strategies:

Internal Focus

Priorities

Critical Strategies:

Priority Actions for 2007:

Priority Actions for 2008:

Priority Actions for 2009:

STRATEGIC PLAN 2007 – 2009

CERI’s Mission and Vision

CERI is a Tennessee Board of Regents Center of Excellence at the University of Memphis devoted to understanding the causes and consequences of earthquakes and the structure and evolution of the continental lithosphere.  CERI addresses these needs through cutting-edge research, comprehensive graduate student education, operation of state-of-the-art seismic and GPS networks, and dissemination of technical and practical information to the private and public sectors.  CERI’s vision is to be a leading center for earthquake related studies and for the investigation of the continental lithosphere based upon the quality of our research and educational efforts and upon our dedication to data collection and information transfer.

Our strategic plan is concerned with three broad areas:

Raise CERI’s external reputation

Background

CERI has established a strong reputation for research centered on the active New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ).  The next three years are critical for CERI because national security concerns and large, federally funded science initiatives provide an incredible opportunity for the Center to blossom as a nationally recognized leader in the areas of hazards and the structure and evolution of the continents.  CERI currently participates in several initiatives that enhance the Center’s external reputation. For the last ten years, CERI has been a core member of the Mid America Earthquake Center (MAE Center), one of three national earthquake engineering research centers established by the National Science Foundation (NSF).  CERI has been a leader in the effort to establish the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) and we house the ANSS-Mid-America Regional Processing Center.  CERI is also directly involved with the new West Tennessee Seismic Safety Commission established by the Governor. 

We have identified two paths to increase research capabilities at the Center and thus elevate our stature on both the regional and national levels.  The first path involves strengthening our focus on regional hazards.  Rather than attempt to incorporate all hazards, we will concentrate on our ability to quantify seismic hazard and expand our capabilities in areas such as probabilistic ground motion assessments, loss assessments, paleoseismology, and earthquake engineering.  To this end, we have just hired a faculty member with an outstanding, international reputation in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis.  Our research capabilities in seismic hazard will be augmented by two new hires at the United States Geological Survey branch office housed at CERI and by increased interaction with University of Memphis faculty members conducting hazards related research. The second path involves a refocusing of our research endeavors to become a leading center for continental studies.  This refocusing effort is motivated by large, federally funded initiatives in the earth sciences (e.g. NSF EarthScope and Continental Dynamics programs) to investigate the structure and evolution of the North American continent.  These programs encourage collaborative research efforts aimed at big-picture science.  There is great enthusiasm at CERI to become more involved in these projects and to take a leading role in the study of North America.  To date, we have invested considerable resources in a state-of-the-art laboratory for seismic reflection processing and we have hired a reflection seismologist with research interests that involve large-scale, continental profiles.  In addition, we have just hired an earthquake seismologist actively involved in large-scale, off-shore and on-shore projects.  The research efforts of several CERI faculty members will integrate smoothly with those of the new hires.

A third aspect of our refocusing and strengthening efforts involves the construction of a geophysical observatory anchored by a deep, instrumented borehole in the NMSZ.  The NMSZ is covered by thick sediments that obscure earthquake related features and could amplify seismic ground motions.  A deep, instrumented borehole extending into bedrock will vastly improve seismic hazard estimates for the Central U.S. and will improve our research capabilities on both the regional and national scales.  In addition to the effects of the sediments, an instrumented borehole will reveal important characteristics of the seismic source and will provide calibration for algorithms that calculate the effects of non-linear soil response on ground motions.  To date, CERI has obtained funding to hold a workshop to define scientific targets and priorities for a borehole observatory and to define a strategy to implement and sustain the observatory.  Funding for our borehole observatory, the Earthquake Fault Observatory for the Central U.S. (EFOCUS), is being sought at the congressional level. 

CERI has been a leader in the effort to establish the ANSS and two CERI faculty members hold key positions within the ANSS; Arch Johnston is a member of the ANSS National Steering Committee and Mitch Withers heads the Central and Eastern US Regional Advisory Committee.  The ANSS-Mid-America Regional Processing Center is located at CERI for the purpose of consolidating information flow with the ANSS and for providing rapid and real-time products.  Memphis has been designated as a major city at risk and contains a dense urban seismic network.  We have received funding from the MAE Center to operate a continuous GPS network in the NMSZ.  The network has stabilized and is providing reliable measurements of ground velocities.  Strain rates within the NMSZ comparable to those on active plate boundaries are indicated. 

CERI has established an excellent education, outreach and communication program in the Memphis area and surrounding region. We will continue our efforts to increase awareness of earthquake hazards through formal participation in major research initiatives and through direct interaction with the media, key user groups, legislators and the general public. We will also place emphasis on expanding our profile on the national level.  Recently, CERI submitted a proposal to become the site of the EarthScope National Office.  The Office will coordinate all EarthScope educational and outreach activities and the PI will be member of the EarthScope Steering Committee. 

Strengthening our external reputation involves several strategic initiatives aimed at improving our capabilities to conduct research, attract well-qualified students to the graduate program, monitor hazard, and provide education and outreach to the public and private sectors.  Our highest priorities are to:

Strategy

Increase faculty participation in major national research initiatives.

A critical strategy to increase visibility at the national level involves increased faculty participation in committee work for national programs (e.g. ANSS, IRIS, UNAVCO, MARGINS, NEES, and EarthScope).  Faculty members who perform the above tasks should be rewarded in their annual evaluations and in other ways deemed appropriate by the Director.  Serving on the committees and boards of national programs will allow CERI to help shape scientific priorities and will enhance our ability to obtain external funding. 

Critical Point:

Strengthen research capabilities in regional hazards and develop a strong research program involving continental structure and evolution.

Our research capabilities in the area of seismic hazard have been increased through a recent hire and additional faculty involvement will be encouraged through our CERI Associates program (Appendix A). We recognize that bringing together a group of talented individuals does not insure that collaborative efforts will follow.  To stimulate collaborative work and increase our impact upon the hazards community, CERI will embark upon a program to produce comprehensive analyses of seismic risk reduction and loss estimation using advanced software (HAZUS, MAEViz).  Dedication of staff and resources to this program will be leveraged against increased funding opportunities brought about by close affiliation with the MAE Center and by the need for hazard analyses by the broader community. 

CERI has dedicated two of the last three hires to faculty members interested in large-scale seismic investigations of the lithosphere.  We will need to hire additional faculty members to achieve the synergy required to become a recognized Center for the study of the continents.  In particular, we would benefit greatly by the addition of a solid earth geophysicist proficient in the use of broadband instruments in projects involving large-scale seismic profiles.  We will continue to support our reflection seismology program and will continue to strengthen ties with the exploration industry.  Our first recruiting session involving representatives from major oil companies will be held in fall 2007. 

Critical Points:

Participate in a joint effort to drill a deep borehole in the NMSZ and establish a geo-observatory. 

We recognize that a successful, sustainable borehole observatory will require collaborative, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional efforts.  We also recognize that, in addition to providing information for basic research, the observatory must play an important role in education and outreach.  Our upcoming borehole observatory workshop will involve researchers from across the central U.S. and will result in a consortium interested in implementing and sustaining the observatory.  The observatory will be augmented by a recently drilled deep borehole in the NMSZ by the University of Kentucky.  This borehole is appropriate for geotechnical studies but will not provide answers to major scientific questions.  We have joined with UK in an effort to obtain funding to instrument the hole and UK researchers will pay a critical role in our upcoming borehole workshop. In the best of circumstances, two holes will be drilled in the NMSZ (the UK hole and EFOCUS) opening up many more avenues of scientific research.  Another strategy for obtaining funds for the borehole(s) involves integration of the project into the science plan for EarthScope.  EFOCUS is similar in concept to the EarthScope borehole being drilled in the San Andreas Fault zone.  EarthScope may contribute to a deep borehole observatory in the mid-continent, particularly if funding from other sources can be leveraged.   

Critical Points:

Expand and upgrade the seismic networks and GPS network.

Although the need for the ANSS has been recognized in Congress, authorized funding for the project has not been appropriated.  We intend to maintain a very active role in ANSS and to keep promoting the need for a fully funded ANSS in congress.  Our current seismic networks will be upgraded to ANSS standards and integrated across the region and with the USGS National Earthquake Information Center. Our archiving and reporting capabilities will also be improved to make our data more useful and accessible.  Rapid routine notification will be provided for all earthquakes widely felt in the Mid-America region of the ANSS.  Data archiving will be improved so that all triggered digital waveforms and associated metadata are archived at the IRIS DMC with automated event based search integration with the CERI and ANSS composite catalog. Continuous data will also be archived at the IRIS DMC for appropriate stations.  Strong motion data will be archived at the USGS National Strong Motion Project National Engineering datacenter.  CERI will also install and maintain a rapid earthquake notification capability (ASAP) at seven CUSEC state Emergency Operations Centers.

To date, operation and maintenance of the GPS network has been funded by the MAE Center.  This is the final year of MAE Center support and we are actively seeking funds for continued operation of the network through other sources (e.g. USGS).  We intend to archive data at UNAVCO and to integrate the network into the EarthScope science plan.  One of the major initiatives of EarthScope is the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), a GPS network designed to study the strain field resulting from deformation in the western United States.  PBO is operated by UNAVCO and has a backbone network that extends across the entire U.S.  We will make every effort to integrate the New Madrid stations into the backbone network.

Our proposed deep borehole observatory in the New Madrid seismic zone will serve to foster cooperative research endeavors involving surface GPS networks, seismic networks, and geotechnical engineering in the mid-continent area.  These collaborative efforts will help sustain the networks, enhance our monitoring capabilities, and increase our ability to realize a fully funded ANSS. 

Critical Points:

Maintain our Education and Outreach efforts on the local and regional levels and expand on the national level.

CERI’s education and outreach (E&O) efforts are a critical part of Center activities.  We are faced with a challenge in the next five years because a large proportion of the external funding for E&O activities has been provided by the MAE Center.  We will join in efforts currently underway at the MAE Center to continue an educational program after the Center “graduates” in 2007.  Even if successful, we anticipate that MAE Center funding levels over the next three years will only be small fraction of what they were previously.  A major goal of the Center over the next three years will be identifying and obtaining external funding for E&O.   On the local and regional levels, we must seek funds to develop products required by various groups for earthquake-related applications.  For example, emergency management personnel require rapid earthquake information products.  Educators, engineers, and emergency managers could benefit from workshops providing professional development credits and Shelby County requires input for comprehensive mitigation planning.  Visibility for our E&O program will be raised by participating in ventures such as the Tennessee Earthquake Awareness Week (recently funded by State Farm Insurance), the TN Seismic Safety Commission, SONS (Spills of National Significance), the U of M Hazards Center, EFOCUS, and the large bicentennial celebration being planned for the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes.  E&O may also play an important role in our new program to evaluate seismic risk and loss reduction.  Increased visibility together with the development of excellent products should attract external funding.

Even if our attempt to establish the EarthScope National Office is not successful, CERI E&O will participate in targeted education and outreach efforts associated with the passage of USArray through the mid-continent.  These funded efforts, usually collaborative in nature, will include teacher workshops and hands-on-experience for students and members of the general public.  In addition to EarthScope, the CERI E&O program will establish stronger ties to other national programs that sponsor educational and outreach activities.  These programs include the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Program (NEES) and the Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology (IRIS).  For example, IRIS offers funding for hands-on teacher workshops that are part of a nationwide effort to place working seismometers in secondary schools.  Our faculty members will assist in these efforts by becoming more active on the various committees and boards associated with NEES and IRIS. 

Critical Points:

Develop an excellent website. 

An organization’s website has become one of the most important means of communication to outside world.  Maintaining an excellent website at CERI is critical for E&O activities, the distribution of technical information, descriptions of our research activities, and attracting students to the graduate program.  Our website routinely receives thousands of hits annually and this number increases dramatically following a felt earthquake.  The present status of our website is woefully inadequate and one of our most urgent goals is to develop and maintain an excellent website that will serve all aspects of Center activities.  CERI Directors have been charged with keeping their portion of the website current and informative. 

Critical Point:

Become a greater resource for the University

Background

CERI is a State of Tennessee Center of Excellence and receives funding from the State both directly and though the University.  CERI is not affiliated with a single academic department or college although, at this time, all of our faculty members have an academic footprint in the Department of Earth Sciences.  Our faculty composition will change in the future as the goals and needs of the Center dictate hires with interests outside of earth sciences.  In the past, CERI faculty members have been affiliated with the Departments of Civil Engineering and Mathematics. 

CERI already functions as a valuable University resource.  Our primary research focus, earthquake hazards, is critical to the region and attracts a considerable amount of external funding.  Our well established education and outreach program is highly visible and adds to the prestige of the University both within and external to the local community.  The Center has played a leading role in the University’s attempts to establish a Hazards Center and will continue to support this endeavor.  CERI faculty members are highly regarded within their profession and we attract excellent students to the geophysics portion of the graduate program.  CERI has consistently secured more external funding annually than funding provided through the University.

CERI can become a greater resource for the University.  One of the benefits of CERI’s independent status is that it presents many opportunities for collaboration across academic departments.  Thus, the Center can assist the University in its stated goal to increase interdisciplinary research and educational activities.  Specifically, CERI can strengthen the University’s hazards focus area through interdepartmental, collaborative research efforts involving seismic hazard, risk, and mitigation.  CERI can also help the University transition into a major urban research institution. We will work with the University to develop procedures that increase the role of research faculty in the University and better define the relationship between research centers and departments.

Our highest priorities are to:

Strategy

Serve as a university resource for interdisciplinary research and education.

One of the great strengths of the Center is that it serves as a broad umbrella, allowing people with diverse research interests to work together and explore common research objectives.  We will foster collaborative research by inviting selected faculty members from the University to join the Center through our CERI Associates Program.  Associates will have access to CERI facilities and resources and will be encouraged to participate in external funding opportunities that are brought to the Center.  We are particularly interested in expanding our expertise in hazards through the Associates Program.  Another benefit of the Associates Program is that interaction with faculty members from several departments will broaden the graduate program and lead to interdisciplinary degree programs designed to prepare students for multidisciplinary research and professional applications.  Development of an interdisciplinary degree with Civil Engineering will be a critical component of our strengthened hazards program. 

Critical Points:

Work with the University to improve the research environment.

CERI can use its experience a research center to help the University become a major urban research institution.  A clear need is better integration of research faculty into university policy and procedures.  These faculty members are a valuable university resource and should be afforded certain rights and privileges.  For example, research faculty members should be allowed to participate on tenure and promotion committees when research faculty members are being considered for promotion.  In these situations, research faculty members can provide a perspective on promotion that may not be fully grasped by tenured professors.  Similarly, a form of tenure should be afforded to research professors after they have served the university for a designated time period.  This is the policy at other research universities and it has proven to be beneficial.  Another need at the University is a clear policy statement describing the interaction of research centers and departments.  Centers interact with departments because center faculty members must have an academic affiliation and degrees are conferred through departments.  In instances where a center is included within one department, the need for a policy statement may not be great.  However, for centers that are unaffiliated with specific departments, there should be an agreed upon set of procedures that dictate how centers and departments interact with regard to funding, teaching, administration of the academic programs, committee assignments, etc.  A draft of policy describing the interaction of centers and departments is given in Appendix B.  CERI will work with the University, colleges, centers and departments to develop an acceptable policy statement and thus bring the University closer to a research institution.

Critical Point:

Make CERI a stronger Center

Background

CERI has made great advances since it became a Center of Excellence in 1994.  The Center is highly regarded for research involving intraplate earthquakes and as a source of earthquake data and information.  CERI hierarchy consists of the Director and the Associate Director and four Directors covering research, seismic and computer networks, education and outreach, and administration and finance.  The USGS has a branch office housed at CERI and the Center benefits from interaction with USGS scientists and from financial support for our Public Earthquake Resource Center (PERC).  CERI is posed to improve existing areas of research and to expand into new a focus area that takes advantage of large, federally funded research initiatives.  This is an exciting time for the Center that could lead to increased national stature, funding opportunities, and interest in our graduate program. 

The Center presents an unusual educational environment that can make our graduate program very attractive to students; all faculty members at the Center are involved in geophysics and speak a common language.  This creates a vibrant research and educational environment in which faculty members and students can work collaboratively.  Few other universities in the country have comparable research/educational environments in geophysics. 

Presently, CERI attracts approximately 1 million dollars per year in external funding.  We also provide a Ph.D. fellowship through the Palisades Geophysical Fellowship endowment.  Occasionally, funding is provided to the Center for specific functions.  Our most recent gift was given by State Farm Insurance to support the Tennessee Earthquake Awareness Week. 

CERI has traditional social activities that boost moral.  These include the Christmas party, the fiscal fish fry and the CERI welcome-back lunch.  We have initiated Wednesday afternoon discussions where all CERI employees are invited to gather and converse over coffee and cookies.  These sessions are very well attended and serve as a forum for employees with very different tasks to commingle.  We have also participated in a student organized ping-pong tournament involving several departments.  This proved to be an excellent social function and built ties to personnel outside of CERI. 

In order for CERI to reach its full potential, we must energize our work environment through improved management, educational capabilities, financial planning, and social interactions.  Traditionally, CERI faculty and upper-level staff have had little supervision and an emphasis has not been placed upon collaborative research efforts.  To reach our goals of developing strong programs in seismic hazards and continental studies, we must foster collaborative research efforts.  We must have a comprehensive graduate program that attracts and educates the students required by our diverse faculty members to develop thriving research programs.  We must plan the long-term financial future to grow the Center and cover critical programs in times of diminished funding.  CERI employs over fifty people including faculty, permanent staff, hourly staff, temporary employees, and students.  This is a diverse group encompassing a broad spectrum of skills, priorities, and educational backgrounds.  The common thread is that everyone is a valuable, contributing member of the Center.  Establishing a productive and congenial work environment is important for moral and for the Center to function effectively.  We can improve social interaction and the working environment at the Center through increased communication and activities that give all personnel the correct impression that they are valued members of the CERI community.

Strengthening CERI as a Center involves several strategic initiatives aimed at improving our leadership roles, educational capabilities, financial planning, and social interactions.  Our highest priorities are to:

Strategy

Manage the Center in a more effective way

CERI is entering into a restructuring phase that will involve coordinated efforts among the faculty and upper-level staff members and will require effective management of Center resources.  CERI Directors will have to assume a more active role in Center activities and provide the guidance needed to insure that the Center is functioning as a coherent unit.  A set of performance guidelines for faculty and upper-level staff members will be developed and monthly meetings will be held to discuss research progress and plans.  A meeting involving all faculty members and appropriate staff will be held prior to each major proposal deadline to insure that our proposals are collaborative rather than competitive. A strategy for allocating Center resources (e.g. funding for graduate students, space, technical support, equipment, etc.) should be developed.  Included in this strategy should be ways to reward efforts that further the goals of the Center. Expenditures should be reviewed and adjusted, if necessary, to better serve the Center as a whole.  Critical tasks such as annual faculty reviews will be done in a timely manner and agreed upon policy such as proposal reviews will be carried out.

The research environment at the Center must become one where collaboration is fostered and facilitated if we are to attain our goals of developing strong programs in seismic hazards and continental studies.  Collaborative research efforts should be promoted and supported by the Director.  Center resources should be used to help launch the programs and provide support for initial projects.  In addition, the curriculum should be modified to accommodate the needs of these programs.  Ultimately, the success of the programs will depend upon the level of support and enthusiasm provided by the Director and the ability of the faculty to work collectively toward common goals.

Critical Points:

Broaden and strengthen the graduate program.

Our graduate program must broaden to accommodate the increased emphasis on hazards research and the new focus on continental structure and evolution.  This will be accomplished by a careful curriculum review and through the establishment of an expanded graduate program involving Civil Engineering and Physics.  Students will be integrated into research projects more effectively by emphasizing the need to support students on external funding; Center support for students will be used as backup only.  We will foster a collaborative research and educational environment for faculty and students by exposing faculty ideas and research-in-progress though regular “brown bag” talks, placing more emphasis on the research content of seminar courses, encouraging team-taught seminar courses, and rewarding (through annual prizes) faculty and student publications.  Publications are particularly important for postdocs and students interested in pursuing an academic position.  Our Ph.D. students are now required to submit two first-author papers for publication prior to the dissertation defense.  We will urge graduate student committees to increase this number to three and ask Masters students to prepare their theses for publication prior to graduation.  We will institute an internal manuscript review process to assist faculty, staff and students.  Our graduate program will also benefit from the presence of oil company recruiters at CERI.  Our reflection seismology program will become more visible and will attract better-qualified students when industry jobs are facilitated through recruitment efforts and are filled by our graduates. 

Critical Points:

Develop a solid long-term fiscal plan.

Priorities for future spending must be developed along with contingency plans that enable us to anticipate how we will cover necessary endeavors in times of diminished external funding.  Developing these priorities and plans are the responsibility of the Director.

While gifts are always welcomed, we cannot depend upon serendipity to provide funding for future important projects.  To help insure long-term financial stability, we will establish an Endowment Fund.  The Directors will be active promoters of CERI and will attract funding for the Endowment Fund at every opportunity.  We will also reach out to CERI alumni for contributions to the fund.  CERI is growing in nationally recognition and we will bring the energy and enthusiasm to our alumni in the form of a newsletter and an invitation to join us for the 100th anniversary of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes.  Our alumni should be pleased to contribute to the Center’s growth. 

Critical Points:

Strengthen social interaction and the working environment.

An easy yet critical step in improving interaction within an organization is to provide a voice to all employees.  This will be done at CERI via a newsletter available through the internal website.  The newsletter will serve as an open forum for discussion of issues and problems and will also contain news, accomplishments, announcements, etc.  Material will be accepted at any time and everyone will be encouraged to participate.  The Directors will also hold a “town meeting” of all CERI employees each semester to air problems and discuss issues that are important to the Center. 

Another way to draw the Center together is to develop a coordinated plan for CERI’s response to the public and the media following felt earthquakes.  The Center should have a coordinated response plan for the larger events that involves most Center personnel.  Not only is this manpower needed, such a plan will unite the employees and give them the correct impression that they are valuable, contributing members of the Center.  A committee has been developing a coordinated response to felt earthquakes and will present their plan to the Center this spring. 

Critical Points:

Appendix A

DRAFT

CERI Associates Program

Open to non-CERI faculty members who wish to have a formal affiliation with the Center. Requirements will include:

Benefits of the program to Associates:

Benefits to the Center:

Appendix B

Center for Earthquake Research and Information

Procedures and Guidelines for the Cooperative Interaction of Departments and Centers:

The Academic Program

The following procedures and guidelines are developed to foster the mutually beneficial interaction of Departments and Centers with regard to the academic program.  Normally, academic programs are rooted in a Department.  However, faculty members hired by a Center can have academic ties to a particular Department and these faculty members can perform the same academic duties (e.g. teaching, supporting and mentoring graduate students) as faculty members in the Department.  Thus, a stronger academic program can be generated through appropriate, positive interaction of the Department and the Center.

Guidelines:

Procedure: