Geospatial Technology: Saving the World’s Past, Present, and Future from Natural Hazards

EERI-BC is pleased to announce that Michael Olsen (M.EERI 2004) is the recipient of the 2024 EERI Distinguished Lecture Award in recognition of his pioneering work applying geomatics to identify spatial geologic seismic hazards as well as risks to distributed systems.

The task of maintaining resilient infrastructure against the onslaught of natural hazards often feels elusive and unattainable. Recent advances in technology offer promising solutions and opportunities towards this goal; however, the effective adoption and utilization of those technologies operates at a much slower pace given the societal realities of budget limitations, workforce shortages, polarization of priorities, disillusionment from past failures, and resistance to change. In day to day operations, efforts by engineers, planners, and decision makers often are stymied due to a lack of accessible, trustworthy, and current information related to infrastructure conditions. These problems are exacerbated in emergency situations where infrastructure systems and people are pushed to extreme limits.