Category: BSSA

SSA Recognizes Peer Reviewers

Published on | BSSA, Community, Journals, Member, News, SRL, TSR

13 March 2025–SSA is proud to recognize our 2024 peer reviewers for the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA), Seismological Research Letters (SRL) and The Seismic Record (TSR). “SSA’s journals are known for their rigorous peer review and for the valuable reviewer feedback that helps authors improve the … Continue Reading »

Kenneth W. Campbell Awarded 2025 Bruce Bolt Medal

Published on | Awards, BSSA, Member, News
Campbell has been a leader at several professional organizations, including CoreLogic Inc. and EQE International/EQECAT, focused on seismic hazard and risk analysis used in the insurance industry. His career also includes work for the U.S. Geological Survey and consulting companies specializing in developing design ground motion for worldwide critical facilities and oil platforms. He is perhaps best well-known for his impactful studies in ground motion modeling, several of which were cited by his peers in their nomination of Campbell for the Bolt Medal. These groundbreaking papers include the 1981 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America paper “Near-Source Attenuation of Peak Horizontal Acceleration,” which introduced the concept of magnitude saturation of peak ground acceleration; and the 2003 BSSA paper “Prediction of Strong Ground Motion Using the Hybrid Empirical Method and Its Use in the Development of Ground-Motion (Attenuation) Relations in Eastern North America,” which pioneered the concept of the “hybrid-empirical method” for developing ground motion models in regions with sparse ground-motion recordings. Starting in 2003, Campbell participated in the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) project series NGA-West, NGA-West2, NGA-East and NGA-Subduction, providing supporting studies for ground motion model development. These models have been adopted by the U.S. Geological Survey for the development of the USGS National Seismic Hazard maps, which inform seismic design codes across the country. Campbell has also worked as a consultant on high-profile infrastructure projects in the U.S. and internationally, including the seismic hazard analysis of the California High-Speed Rail project and multiple levels of the Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC) projects for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He has also served as a seismic hazard expert for the International Atomic Energy Agency.

15 November 2024–The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), the Consortium of Organizations for Strong Motion Observation Systems (COSMOS), and SSA are pleased to announce that Kenneth W. Campbell of CoreLogic Inc. (retired) is the recipient of the 2025 Bruce Bolt Medal. Campbell was recognized for his 50 years of research … Continue Reading »

Precariously Balanced Rocks in New York, Vermont Provide Limits on Earthquake Shaking

Published on | BSSA, Journals, News

10 September 2024–Five boulders, delivered by glacier and balancing delicately on rocky pedestals in northern New York and Vermont, can help define long-term maximum shaking intensity of earthquakes in the region. Seismologists examine the fragility of precariously balanced rocks, or PBRs, to determine the intensity of shaking would be needed … Continue Reading »