Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center

What Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center does

The Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center (CRESCENT) is a non-profit, multi-institutional research center headquartered at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Established in 2023 with a $15 million award from the National Science Foundation, it is the first federally funded subduction zone earthquake hazards center in the United States. CRESCENT coordinates Cascadia-focused earthquake science across 12+ partner universities (Oregon State, University of Washington, UC San Diego, Virginia Tech, Cal Poly Humboldt, Stanford, Purdue, among others) plus federal agencies including USGS, FEMA Region 10, and NOAA/NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, with active tribal partnerships through the Makah and Quileute communities.

CRESCENT's core outputs are organized around three pillars — Science, Partnerships & Applications, and Geoscience Education & Inclusion — and delivered through five working groups (Community Fault Model, Cascadia Paleoseismology, Coupling Seismicity and Slow Slip, Community Velocity Model, Numerical Models) plus five Special Interest Groups. Its technical products are open-access research infrastructure: an Earthquake Catalog Repository and Viewer, a Cascadia Ground Failure Viewer, a Community Velocity Model viewer, a Community Fault Model viewer, a Cascadia Paleoseismology Viewer, and an open-source QGIS Toolkit for 3D fault surface construction. A 2025 ACM Gordon Bell Prize recognized a senior personnel-led team for a physics-based digital twin for real-time Cascadia tsunami early warning combining 3D acoustic-gravity wave modeling with Bayesian inference.

The center has no commercial revenue. Its business model is grant-funded research and education: NSF provides core operating support, donations underwrite educational programming, and outputs are distributed free of charge through open-data platforms (Zenodo), workshops, webinars, seed grants, technical short courses, and structured training programs (Twinning, Cores to Code, CCASE, Fellowships). Customer segments are researchers, emergency managers, students/early-career geoscientists, tribal communities, and the general public — none of whom pay for center products or services.

Name

Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center

Legal name

Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center

Website

https://cascadiaquakes.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CRESCENT is a non-profit, NSF-funded research center coordinating Cascadia subduction zone earthquake science across 12+ universities and federal agencies, producing open-access hazard data products, educational programs, and a Gordon Bell Prize-winning tsunami digital twin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seismic Hazard Research

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)

SIC

Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Earth Science & Geoscience Programs (EDAMABAI)

Keywords

• Earthquake science research
• Seismic hazard assessment
• Subduction zone studies
• Geoscience workforce development
• Tsunami early warning

Headquarters

HQ city

Eugene

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. NSF Funding: Primary funding from National Science Foundation awarded in 2023 for establishing the center as the nation's first subduction zone earthquake hazards center
2. Donations: Center accepts donations to support geoscience education programs including scholarships, hands-on training, and educational programs

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CRESCENT is a research coordination center that produces open-access seismic data products, interactive visualization tools, and educational programs focused on understanding and mitigating earthquake hazards of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Its core offerings include community-built fault and velocity models, earthquake and paleoseismology data viewers, an open-source QGIS Toolkit for 3D fault modeling, a digital twin for tsunami early warning, and geoscience workforce development programs (Technical Short Courses, Cores to Code, Twinning Program, CCASE, Fellowships).

Product overview

CRESCENT (Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center) is a research coordination center, not a traditional product company. Its offerings consist of open-access data platforms, visualization tools, educational programs, and community resources. The core data products include the Earthquake Catalog Repository and Viewer, Cascadia Ground Failure Viewer, QGIS Toolkit for 3D fault surface modeling, Community Velocity Model Viewer, Community Fault Model, and Cascadia Paleoseismology Viewer—all built by working groups and shared openly via Zenodo. Educational offerings include Technical Short Courses (field paleoseismology and geodesy), Cores to Code summer program, Undergraduate Twinning Program, CCASE Indigenous youth engagement, and Geoscience Fellowship. Community programs include Seed Grants, CLiP Webinars, and Partnerships & Applications Workshops. The organization focuses on translating subduction zone earthquake science into societal resilience through systematic collaboration between academia and hazard information-producing agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Earthquake Catalog Repository and Viewer Interactive visualization platform providing curated earthquake catalog datasets for the Cascadia region, supporting research, education, and hazard assessment for earthquake scientists and hazard practitioners.
• Cascadia Ground Failure Viewer Interactive visualization tool for exploring ground-failure processes in Cascadia, providing curated datasets and analytical capabilities for hazard assessment by researchers, educators, and emergency managers.
• QGIS Toolkit Open-source tools for building realistic 3D fault surfaces directly in QGIS, enabling researchers to create non-planar, data-constrained fault geometries from geologic maps, balanced cross-sections, seismic images, and earthquake hypocenters.
• Cascadia Paleoseismology Viewer Interactive viewer for paleoseismic data and research outputs from the Cascadia Paleoseismology (CPAL) working group, showing evidence of past earthquakes and tsunami events for researchers and educators.
• Community Velocity Model (CVM) Viewer Interactive viewer for the Generation 0 Cascadia Community Velocity Model, providing seismic velocity structure data for the Cascadia Subduction Zone region for researchers and hazard modelers.
• Community Fault Model (CFM) Comprehensive fault model for the Cascadia Subduction Zone, providing fault geometry data and paleoseismic analysis products produced by the CFM Working Group for researchers and hazard assessors.
• Technical Short Courses Field-based training programs including the Paleoseismology course and Geodesy course, providing hands-on experience with paleoseismic methods and geodetic observations for graduate students, postdocs, and early-career geoscientists.
• Cores to Code (C2C) Summer research experience training the next generation of paleoseismologists through immersive field, lab, and computational experiences. Students collect sediment cores, analyze microfossils, and learn Python coding for geophysical modeling. Targets graduate students and early-career researchers.
• Undergraduate Twinning Program Year-long mentorship program connecting undergraduate students with research mentors for collaborative geoscience projects on subduction zone topics. Students receive funding to focus on research without financial worry. Targets undergraduate students from a broad range of institutions.
• CCASE (Cascadia Culture And geoScience Exchange) Education program building community resilience to Cascadia geohazards and fostering STEM identities of Indigenous youth through culturally-sustaining pedagogy and place-based lessons with tribal communities including Makah and Quileute.
• Geoscience Fellowship Fellowship program supporting students pursuing careers in Earth science through scholarships and professional development. Targets graduate students in geoscience fields.
• Seed Grants Program Grant program with dual goals of broadening community participation and increasing scientific investigations related to CRESCENT's three pillars: Science, Partnerships & Applications, and Geoscience Education & Inclusion. Targets researchers across CRESCENT's partner institutions.
• CLiP Webinar Series Coordinated monthly webinar series showcasing advances in seismic hazard assessment, infrastructure design, and earthquake resilience initiatives. Free to the community, designed for engineers, industrial scientists, and policy makers.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 10,000 potential casualties estimated from a repeat of the 1700 M9 earthquake and tsunami
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• University of OregoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead institution hosting CRESCENT headquarters. The center is headquartered at 1600 Millrace Dr, Suite 205A, Eugene, OR 97403 on the University of Oregon campus.
• Cal Poly HumboldtmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore academic institution in CRESCENT's network of 12+ universities conducting Cascadia earthquake research across the Pacific Northwest.
• Oregon State UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore academic institution contributing to CRESCENT research on subduction zone processes and earthquake hazards.
• University of WashingtonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore academic institution and host of USGS Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) Seismolab, partner in CCASE tribal education programs.
• University of California San DiegomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution with senior personnel Alice-Agnes Gabriel leading the Dynamic Rupture, Earthquake Cycles, and Tsunamis (DET) working group.
• Virginia TechmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution with faculty including Tina Dura leading paleoseismology research and education programs.
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency partner providing earthquake science expertise, ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System collaboration, and USGS Cooperative Agreement projects supporting subduction zone science.
• EarthScope ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of Geoscience Career Panels and partner in operating NSF National Geophysical Facility. Collaborates on mentor training with SCEC and CRESCENT.
• Statewide California Earthquake Center (SCEC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-facilitates mentor training programs with CRESCENT, based on evidence-based Entering Mentoring curriculum from CIMER.
• NOAA/NWS/Pacific Tsunami Warning CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner in Twinning Program focused on enhancing visual representations of earthquake and tsunami information for tsunami warning operations.
• Makah TribecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTribal partner in CCASE (Cascadia Culture And geoScience Exchange) program, including internships, school visits, and community resilience projects at Neah Bay.
• Quileute TribecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTribal partner in CCASE program with Quileute Tribal School, including campus visits and educational exchange through UW Riverways program.
• Oregon Hazards Lab (OHAZ)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Oregon lab co-hosting Great ShakeOut events and providing earthquake monitoring and expertise for public outreach.
• University of Oregon Safety and Risk ServicesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity department co-sponsoring Great ShakeOut public outreach events and emergency preparedness initiatives.
• Museum of Natural and Cultural HistorymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity museum partner hosting public education events and exhibits on earthquake preparedness.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (NOAA PMEL): NOAA PMEL operates tsunami research and detection assets including DART buoys feeding the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center — a CRESCENT partner. Comparable focus on tsunami science and operational hazard products.
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program is the federal agency counterpart for U.S. earthquake science and ShakeAlert. CRESCENT is a named partner in ShakeAlert; USGS operates the authoritative hazard products that CRESCENT's research feeds into.
• Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS): IRIS was the long-standing NSF-funded consortium for seismological research and data, now part of EarthScope. It operated analogous data repositories, instrumentation, and education programs, making it a comparable NSF-funded geoscience infrastructure model.
• ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System: ShakeAlert is the West Coast earthquake early warning system operated by USGS with university partners including UW. CRESCENT senior personnel partner with ShakeAlert on related seismic hazard science; comparable mission on hazard mitigation.

Regional players

• GeoNet (New Zealand): GeoNet operates New Zealand's geophysical hazard monitoring network for the Hikurangi subduction zone — a Cascadia analog. Both centers focus on subduction zone seismology and tsunami hazards; GeoNet serves as a comparable model for publicly-funded subduction zone hazard science.
• Alaska Earthquake Center: The Alaska Earthquake Center, based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, monitors seismicity for the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone — another Cascadia analog. Comparable state-level seismic hazard center model with open data products.
• Japan Seismic Hazard Information Station (J-SHIS): J-SHIS, operated by Japan's National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, provides public seismic hazard products for Japan's subduction zones. Comparable mission scope for translating subduction zone earthquake science into national hazard maps and information.

Direct peers

• EarthScope Consortium: EarthScope Consortium operates NSF-funded geophysical research infrastructure and is an active CRESCENT partner co-hosting career panels and operating the NSF National Geophysical Facility. Comparable mission scope (geoscience infrastructure, education, data products) but broader than earthquake hazards.
• Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN): PNSN operates seismic monitoring for the Cascadia region and is hosted at the University of Washington, a core CRESCENT partner institution. PNSN produces the operational seismic catalog that CRESCENT's Community Fault Model and Earthquake Catalog Viewer build upon.
• Statewide California Earthquake Center (SCEC): SCEC is the closest direct peer to CRESCENT — an NSF-funded, multi-institutional earthquake science center with similar working-group and education programs. CRESCENT explicitly partners with SCEC on mentor training, confirming structural comparability; SCEC focuses on California while CRESCENT covers Cascadia.

Market position

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/cascadiaeqs.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cascadiaquakes
• Facebookfacebook.com/61557874174752
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cascadia-region-earthquake-science-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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