David J Wald
Dr. Wald is a Seismologist with the USGS in Golden. He is involved in research, development & operations of several real-time earthquake information systems at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center. He developed and manages “ShakeMap”, “Did You Feel it?”, & is responsible for developing other systems for post-earthquake response & pre-earthquake mitigation, including ShakeCast.
Wald's scientific interests include the characterization of rupture processes from complex recent and historic earthquakes using combined geodetic, teleseismic, and strong motion data; waveform modelling and inversion; analysis of ground motion hazards and site effects; earthquake source physics; and modelling earthquake-induced landslides, liquefaction, and losses, macroseismic intensity, building damage, financial and human impact, rapid damage and impact assessment, earthquake scenario development and mitigation planning and drills, and communication with the media, public, and emergency managers.
Previously at Caltech, and now at the Colorado School of Mines, Wald has advised dozens of post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate student research projects. Wald directly supervises 10 PhD level scientists and 5 five BS and MS level support staff, and supervises several students. Wald serves on several PhD committees at this time. This research has resulted in more than 450 professional publications that David has authored or co-authored, including journal papers, USGS publication series, conference papers, and published abstracts.
Education:
Post-doctoral Fellow, Geophysics, National Research Council, USGS, Pasadena, 1995
Ph.D., Geophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 1993
M.S., Geophysics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1986
B.S., Geology & Physics, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, 1984
Honors and Awards
2025 - Alfred E. Alquist Special Recognition Medal of Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2023 - Presidential Rank Award
2023 - USGS Shoemaker Lifetime Achievement Award in Communications
2023 - American Geophysical Union Fellow
2018—2023 - Editor-in-Chief, Earthquake Spectra
2021 - Joyner Lectureship, Seismological Society of America and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2015—2017 - Board of Directors, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2016 - Meritorious Service Award (MSA), Department of the Interior
2015 - Distinguished Lecturer, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2015—2017 - Board of Directors, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2009—2011 - Board of Directors, Seismological Society of America
2010 - Superior Service Award (SSA), Department of the Interior
2009 - Frank Press Public Service Award of the Seismological Society of America
2004 - Seismological Society of America’s Distinguished Lecturer
2003 - U.S.G.S. Shoemaker Award. Excellence in Communications
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 162
Rapid exposure and loss estimates for the May 12, 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system Rapid exposure and loss estimates for the May 12, 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system
One half-hour after the May 12th Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) system distributed an automatically generated alert stating that 1.2 million people were exposed to severe-to-extreme shaking (Modified Mercalli Intensity VIII or greater). It was immediately clear that a large-scale disaster had...
Authors
P.S. Earle, D.J. Wald, T.I. Allen, K. Jaiswal, K.A. Porter, M.G. Hearne
WHE-PAGER Project: A new initiative in estimating global building inventory and its seismic vulnerability WHE-PAGER Project: A new initiative in estimating global building inventory and its seismic vulnerability
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquake’s Response (PAGER) Project and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s World Housing Encyclopedia (WHE) are creating a global database of building stocks and their earthquake vulnerability. The WHE already represents a growing, community-developed public database of global housing and its detailed structural
Authors
K.A. Porter, K. Jaiswal, D.J. Wald, M. Greene, Craig Comartin
An atlas of ShakeMaps for selected global earthquakes An atlas of ShakeMaps for selected global earthquakes
An atlas of maps of peak ground motions and intensity 'ShakeMaps' has been developed for almost 5,000 recent and historical global earthquakes. These maps are produced using established ShakeMap methodology (Wald and others, 1999c; Wald and others, 2005) and constraints from macroseismic intensity data, instrumental ground motions, regional topographically-based site amplifications, and...
Authors
Trevor Allen, David Wald, Alicia Hotovec, Kuo-Wan Lin, Paul Earle, Kristin D. Marano
Quantifying and Qualifying USGS ShakeMap Uncertainty Quantifying and Qualifying USGS ShakeMap Uncertainty
We describe algorithms for quantifying and qualifying uncertainties associated with USGS ShakeMap ground motions. The uncertainty values computed consist of latitude/longitude grid-based multiplicative factors that scale the standard deviation associated with the ground motion prediction equation (GMPE) used within the ShakeMap algorithm for estimating ground motions. The resulting grid...
Authors
David Wald, Kuo-Wan Lin, Vincent Quitoriano
Creating a Global Building Inventory for Earthquake Loss Assessment and Risk Management Creating a Global Building Inventory for Earthquake Loss Assessment and Risk Management
Earthquakes have claimed approximately 8 million lives over the last 2,000 years (Dunbar, Lockridge and others, 1992) and fatality rates are likely to continue to rise with increased population and urbanizations of global settlements especially in developing countries. More than 75% of earthquake-related human casualties are caused by the collapse of buildings or structures (Coburn and...
Authors
Kishor Jaiswal, David Wald
ShakeCast Manual ShakeCast Manual
ShakeCast is a freely available, post-earthquake situational awareness application that automatically retrieves earthquake shaking data from ShakeMap, compares intensity measures against users? facilities, and generates potential damage assessment notifications, facility damage maps, and other Web-based products for emergency managers and responders.
Authors
Kuo-Wan Lin, David Wald
ShakeCast: Automating and improving the use of shakemap for post-earthquake deeision-making and response ShakeCast: Automating and improving the use of shakemap for post-earthquake deeision-making and response
When a potentially damaging earthquake occurs, utility and other lifeline managers, emergency responders, and other critical users have an urgent need for information about the impact on their particular facilities so they can make appropriate decisions and take quick actions to ensure safety and restore system functionality. ShakeMap, a tool used to portray the extent of potentially...
Authors
D. Wald, K.-W. Lin, K. Porter, Loren Turner
Rapid Assessment of earthquake-induced landsliding Rapid Assessment of earthquake-induced landsliding
The Pacific Northwest in the United States including Seattle, Washington, experienced unusually heavy rainfall in the winters of 1995/1996 and 1996/1997, which caused numerous landslides. Following these two winters, the City of Seattle resolved to reduce future landslide losses within its jurisdiction. By coincidence, in 1997 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a five-year project...
Authors
J. W. Godt, B. Sener, K.L. Verdin, D.J. Wald, P.S. Earle, E. Harp, R.W. Jibson
The USGS Earthquake Notification Service (ENS): Customizable notifications of earthquakes around the globe The USGS Earthquake Notification Service (ENS): Customizable notifications of earthquakes around the globe
At the beginning of 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) introduced a new automated Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) to take the place of the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) "Bigquake" system and the various other individual EHP e-mail list-servers for separate regions in the United States. These included northern California...
Authors
Lisa Wald, David Wald, Stan Schwarz, Bruce Presgrave, Paul Earle, Eric Martinez, David Oppenheimer
Development of the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response) Development of the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response)
The Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) System plays a primary alerting role for global earthquake disasters as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) response protocol. We provide an overview of the PAGER system, both of its current capabilities and our ongoing research and development. PAGER monitors the USGS’s near real-time U.S. and global earthquake...
Authors
D.J. Wald, P.S. Earle, T.I. Allen, K. Jaiswal, K. Porter, M. Hearne
Topographic Slope as a Proxy for Seismic Site-Conditions (VS30) and Amplification Around the Globe Topographic Slope as a Proxy for Seismic Site-Conditions (VS30) and Amplification Around the Globe
Executive Summary It is well-known that large global earthquakes can have a dramatic effect on local communities and the built environment. Moreover, ground motions amplified by surficial materials can exacerbate the situation, often making the difference between minor and major damage. For a real-time earthquake impact alert system, such as Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for...
Authors
Trevor Allen, David Wald
USGS ShakeCast USGS ShakeCast
Automating, Simplifying, and Improving the Use of ShakeMap for Post-Earthquake Decisionmaking and Response. ShakeCast is a freely available, post-earthquake situational awareness application that automatically retrieves earthquake shaking data from ShakeMap, compares intensity measures against users facilities, and generates potential damage assessment notifications, facility damage maps...
Authors
David Wald, Kuo-Wan Lin
Non-USGS Publications**
References in Google Scholar
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 162
Rapid exposure and loss estimates for the May 12, 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system Rapid exposure and loss estimates for the May 12, 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system
One half-hour after the May 12th Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) system distributed an automatically generated alert stating that 1.2 million people were exposed to severe-to-extreme shaking (Modified Mercalli Intensity VIII or greater). It was immediately clear that a large-scale disaster had...
Authors
P.S. Earle, D.J. Wald, T.I. Allen, K. Jaiswal, K.A. Porter, M.G. Hearne
WHE-PAGER Project: A new initiative in estimating global building inventory and its seismic vulnerability WHE-PAGER Project: A new initiative in estimating global building inventory and its seismic vulnerability
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquake’s Response (PAGER) Project and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s World Housing Encyclopedia (WHE) are creating a global database of building stocks and their earthquake vulnerability. The WHE already represents a growing, community-developed public database of global housing and its detailed structural
Authors
K.A. Porter, K. Jaiswal, D.J. Wald, M. Greene, Craig Comartin
An atlas of ShakeMaps for selected global earthquakes An atlas of ShakeMaps for selected global earthquakes
An atlas of maps of peak ground motions and intensity 'ShakeMaps' has been developed for almost 5,000 recent and historical global earthquakes. These maps are produced using established ShakeMap methodology (Wald and others, 1999c; Wald and others, 2005) and constraints from macroseismic intensity data, instrumental ground motions, regional topographically-based site amplifications, and...
Authors
Trevor Allen, David Wald, Alicia Hotovec, Kuo-Wan Lin, Paul Earle, Kristin D. Marano
Quantifying and Qualifying USGS ShakeMap Uncertainty Quantifying and Qualifying USGS ShakeMap Uncertainty
We describe algorithms for quantifying and qualifying uncertainties associated with USGS ShakeMap ground motions. The uncertainty values computed consist of latitude/longitude grid-based multiplicative factors that scale the standard deviation associated with the ground motion prediction equation (GMPE) used within the ShakeMap algorithm for estimating ground motions. The resulting grid...
Authors
David Wald, Kuo-Wan Lin, Vincent Quitoriano
Creating a Global Building Inventory for Earthquake Loss Assessment and Risk Management Creating a Global Building Inventory for Earthquake Loss Assessment and Risk Management
Earthquakes have claimed approximately 8 million lives over the last 2,000 years (Dunbar, Lockridge and others, 1992) and fatality rates are likely to continue to rise with increased population and urbanizations of global settlements especially in developing countries. More than 75% of earthquake-related human casualties are caused by the collapse of buildings or structures (Coburn and...
Authors
Kishor Jaiswal, David Wald
ShakeCast Manual ShakeCast Manual
ShakeCast is a freely available, post-earthquake situational awareness application that automatically retrieves earthquake shaking data from ShakeMap, compares intensity measures against users? facilities, and generates potential damage assessment notifications, facility damage maps, and other Web-based products for emergency managers and responders.
Authors
Kuo-Wan Lin, David Wald
ShakeCast: Automating and improving the use of shakemap for post-earthquake deeision-making and response ShakeCast: Automating and improving the use of shakemap for post-earthquake deeision-making and response
When a potentially damaging earthquake occurs, utility and other lifeline managers, emergency responders, and other critical users have an urgent need for information about the impact on their particular facilities so they can make appropriate decisions and take quick actions to ensure safety and restore system functionality. ShakeMap, a tool used to portray the extent of potentially...
Authors
D. Wald, K.-W. Lin, K. Porter, Loren Turner
Rapid Assessment of earthquake-induced landsliding Rapid Assessment of earthquake-induced landsliding
The Pacific Northwest in the United States including Seattle, Washington, experienced unusually heavy rainfall in the winters of 1995/1996 and 1996/1997, which caused numerous landslides. Following these two winters, the City of Seattle resolved to reduce future landslide losses within its jurisdiction. By coincidence, in 1997 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a five-year project...
Authors
J. W. Godt, B. Sener, K.L. Verdin, D.J. Wald, P.S. Earle, E. Harp, R.W. Jibson
The USGS Earthquake Notification Service (ENS): Customizable notifications of earthquakes around the globe The USGS Earthquake Notification Service (ENS): Customizable notifications of earthquakes around the globe
At the beginning of 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) introduced a new automated Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) to take the place of the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) "Bigquake" system and the various other individual EHP e-mail list-servers for separate regions in the United States. These included northern California...
Authors
Lisa Wald, David Wald, Stan Schwarz, Bruce Presgrave, Paul Earle, Eric Martinez, David Oppenheimer
Development of the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response) Development of the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response)
The Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) System plays a primary alerting role for global earthquake disasters as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) response protocol. We provide an overview of the PAGER system, both of its current capabilities and our ongoing research and development. PAGER monitors the USGS’s near real-time U.S. and global earthquake...
Authors
D.J. Wald, P.S. Earle, T.I. Allen, K. Jaiswal, K. Porter, M. Hearne
Topographic Slope as a Proxy for Seismic Site-Conditions (VS30) and Amplification Around the Globe Topographic Slope as a Proxy for Seismic Site-Conditions (VS30) and Amplification Around the Globe
Executive Summary It is well-known that large global earthquakes can have a dramatic effect on local communities and the built environment. Moreover, ground motions amplified by surficial materials can exacerbate the situation, often making the difference between minor and major damage. For a real-time earthquake impact alert system, such as Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for...
Authors
Trevor Allen, David Wald
USGS ShakeCast USGS ShakeCast
Automating, Simplifying, and Improving the Use of ShakeMap for Post-Earthquake Decisionmaking and Response. ShakeCast is a freely available, post-earthquake situational awareness application that automatically retrieves earthquake shaking data from ShakeMap, compares intensity measures against users facilities, and generates potential damage assessment notifications, facility damage maps...
Authors
David Wald, Kuo-Wan Lin
Non-USGS Publications**
References in Google Scholar
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.