Grigorios Lavrentiadis co-authors 2026 EERI Special Collection

By Alicia Maxwell

The FDHI gathered international researchers to compile global geo-referenced database of surface-fault displacement measurements and develop a new generation of fault displacement models. Lavrentiadis role created statistical relationships detailing the relationship between magnitude and fault displacement at the ground surface as well as the length of the surface rupture. 

“Fault displacement is a critical but often underappreciated hazard. It affects pipelines, bridges, dams, lifelines, and other infrastructure that cannot easily avoid fault crossings,” says Lavrentiadis.

Lavrentiadis submitted five papers with the common theme on how surface-fault displacement hazards are characterized by earthquakes. Two of the papers covered the FDHI’s initiative of developing new statistical models for surface-fault displacements, the permanent offset—shift in the ground—caused by an earthquake, and surface-rupture length, the length of the offset that exhibited permanent displacement. The papers aim to improve magnitude scaling and better explain the randomness of these quantities.

His third paper compares new and existing FDHI displacement models and documents their differences for engineering applications. The remaining papers describe the overall FDHI research program and compile a new dataset of 75 earthquakes that exhibited surface rupture. Lavrentiadis’ work is part of a new peer-reviewed global dataset that was used to develop new statistical models and validate the models against existing methods.

The goal, according to Lavrentiadis, is to provide engineering with quantitative based tools to make informed decisions, and design safer and more cost-effective structures built on or near fault. 

“Accurate fault-displacement hazard models directly influence the safety and resilience of critical infrastructure,” says Lavrentiadis. “Better models help engineers design structures that can withstand ground deformation, reduce the likelihood of catastrophic failures during major earthquakes, make informed decisions and quantify risk more realistically for communities located near active faults.”

On a broader scale, Lavrentiadis’ research focuses on advancing earthquake hazard characterization by integrating geological, geotechnical and seismological information. 

“My work aims to develop next-generation hazard models that better capture physical effects and improve the reliability of infrastructure in seismically active regions,” says Lavrentiadis.