Earthquake Early Warning in Kathmandu (2025-2026)
Background
In 2015, the Gorkha Earthquake Disaster in Nepal took the lives of 9,000 people. More than 22,000 people were injured, 3.5 million lost their homes and the total economic loss of $10 billion represents half of Nepal’s annual GDP. Studies of this earthquake suggest that another rupture would surpass the 2015 disaster. Earthquake early warning systems can save lives and prevent devastation of communities.
By co-developing smart sensing systems and partnering with in-country experts, Duke and Tribhuvan University are taking an interdisciplinary approach to achieving the goal of early detection and warning. Through an ongoing Bass Connections project, team members from Duke and from Tribhuvan University have been collaborating to research the social science, policy, engineering and technology involved in an earthquake early warning system designed for residents of Kathmandu.
Project Description
Building on an existing collaboration between faculty and students at Duke and Tribhuvan University of Kathmandu and the work of previous project teams, this team will work to place a smart seismic sensing network in Kathmandu and continue to build in-country capacity for seismic hazard analysis and mitigation. Team members conduct collaborative research on the many factors involved in developing and operating a seismic sensing network that includes custom-printed circuit boards and motion recordings.
The team’s research questions will incorporate policy, social science, engineering, data science and technology. Previous teams have tackled diverse questions such as how political trust is linked to the implementation of disaster mitigation methods, the behavior of earthquake-resistant furniture and how statistical signal processing can extract meaningful data features from the first seconds of an earthquake ground motion wave form.
The work of the 2025-2026 team will include analyzing survey data, creating a mobile messaging system for earthquake early warnings, designing earthquake-resistant furniture and developing data science models. The team will be divided into subteams based on the interests of team members.
Anticipated Output
Regionally relevant early warning system on a mobile app; designs and prototypes for earthquake-resistant furniture; deployment of a smart seismic sensing network; data science models that incorporate confidence intervals; a research symposium in Kathmandu showcasing 10-20 posters to stakeholders
Student Opportunities
Ideally, this project team will include 3 graduate students and 6 undergraduate students. Students with interests and backgrounds in neuroscience, psychology, political science, public policy, business, engineering, data science and computer science are encouraged to apply.
All students can expect to read deeply, develop and refine their research questions, review the work of collaborators within their subteam and within other subteams, manage and document the flow of their own research over several months, teach across disciplines and critique their own work and the work of others.
Students will be divided into subteams according to their interests, and each team member will carry out a detailed literature review and develop their own research question. Subteams will meet weekly, and subteams from Duke and from the Institute of Engineering in Kathmandu will collaborate via weekly Zoom meetings.
Selected students will have the opportunity to travel to Kathmandu for a research symposium.
Timing
Fall 2025 – Summer 2026
- Fall 2025: Form subteams; develop individual research questions and research plans; conduct literature review
- Spring 2026: Present subteam research question/plan; start travel planning; continue subteam meetings
- Summer 2026 (optional): Refine individual posters; travel to symposium in Kathmandu; debrief
Crediting
Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters; summer funding available
See earlier related team, Earthquake Early Warning in Kathmandu (2024-2025).