Blume Earthquake Engineering Center Celebrates 50 Years of Innovation and Impact

On May 9, 2025, the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center marked its 50th anniversary with a day-long symposium celebrating five decades of pioneering research and education in earthquake engineering. The event brought together more than 200 faculty, students, alumni, and industry leaders to reflect on the Center’s legacy, reconnect with colleagues, and explore future directions in the field.

The program opened with a retrospective on the evolution of earthquake engineering at Stanford, highlighted by a conversation with Professor Emeritus Haresh Shah, who shared insights into the founding of the Blume Center in 1975. Subsequent presentations by current faculty and distinguished alumni showcased the Center’s influential contributions to seismic hazard and risk analysis, performance-based engineering, structural health monitoring, and urban resilience.

The symposium concluded with a student poster session and an evening dinner that fostered continued exchange among generations of researchers and practitioners. Videos of the talks and photos from the event are available on the Blume Center event website.