Caplan-Auerbach to explain all about earthquakes April 19 and 21 on campus

Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, an associate professor of Geology at Western Washington University, will present "Earth Shattering: What makes some earthquakes more deadly than others?" on Tuesday and Thursday, April 19 and 21, on campus.

Caplan-Auerbach's "mini course" presentations are part of the Faculty GUR Group at Western, which brings together people from departments throughout the university to allow each participant to enhance their general education by acquiring useful knowledge their colleagues consider basic.

In these presentations, Caplan Auerbach will look at recent earthquakes, such at the 2010 Haiti and the 2011 Sendai (Japan) events, to explore the relationship between the size and intensity of an earthquake and the damage it may cause, helping attendees to understand the factors that combine to make earthquakes more or less deadly. How did preparation and planning save lives in Japan? What lessons can be learned to help us live safely with earthquakes here in the Northwest? Come to this talk to find out.

All faculty and staff at WWU are invited to attend this two-part course offered on two dates, each covering different material. Attend both or either:

• 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, in Bond Hall Room 111
• 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 21, in Bond Hall Room 111

Also, those who are interested in the culmination event for the Faculty GUR Group, in which the group will discuss the topics and instructional methods covered this year and how the program might continue to evolve, should mark thier calendars for the last event, the Faculty GUR Group Roundtable, which will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, in Bond Hall Room 108.