Our former colleague, Juan Pestana, passed on the night of September 16, 2025 in Lexington, Massachusetts. His friends in the Geosystem Engineering Program were informed by his daughter Maria. We are shocked and saddened by his passing.

Juan was full of life and devoted to the ideals, tradition, and excellence of Berkeley. He returned to campus often after retiring from Berkeley to participate in events. While visiting us he shared the joy of his work at Geosyntec Consultants. Juan was a brilliant engineer.

It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of Professor Emeritus James Marshall Kelly in Berkeley on September 23, 2025, at the age of 90. Professor Kelly was probably the most influential figure in the development, design, and implementation of seismic protection technologies and is widely regarded as the Father of Seismic Isolation. Brilliant, wise, and generous, he earned the admiration of students, colleagues, and collaborators around the world.

The Anti-Seismic Systems International Society (ASSISi) has announced the creation of a prestigious new award recognizing the extraordinary contributions of Professor Emeritus James M. Kelly to the field of seismic isolation.

UC Berkeley researchers, led by Berkeley CEE Professor Luis Ceferino, are studying how people sustain injuries inside concrete buildings during large earthquakes, using data gathered from survivors of the 2023 M7.8 Kahramanmaraş earthquake in southern Türkiye. By interviewing people and mapping how they moved and what parts of the interior (walls, partitions, exit paths, etc.) contributed to harm, the team hopes to improve structural and behavioral models that predict casualties. 

A new Center, The Center for Land Surface Hazards (CLaSH), has been funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation to focus on the science of hazard cascades.

This #WorldWaterWeek, Berkeley CEE Professor Kara Nelson (chair of Development Engineering) spotlights how sustainable sanitation is shaping climate resilience.

Her team is developing a toilet that separates urine and feces—turning urine into local fertilizer. This simple yet powerful idea could: