About

Temblor harnesses large data sets using machine learning to capture earthquake occurrence and their impacts on humanity and on the built environment where we live and work. Our models span earthquake nucleation, seismic shaking, how the hazard changes after large quakes, the response of buildings to shaking, and financial losses they cause. Our approach is ambitious, rigorous and innovative.

Our models serve the insurance industry, engineering firms, governments, financial companies, and multinational corporations. Among our clients are leading reinsurance and insurance companies, reinsurance brokers, insurance linked security companies, government agencies, and seismic retrofit companies.

Contact us

For licensing inquiries or information about how Temblor’s commercial products can help you: solutions@temblor.net

For getting in touch with our CEO and CTO: ross@temblor.net, volkan@temblor.net

For mobile and web app issues: help@temblor.net

For story pitches and comments/questions about Temblor Earthquake News articles: news@temblor.net

The Temblor Team

We are a team of committed and creative people. Our developers and editors are also earthquake scientists who understand the latest scientific findings and the latest coding tools. We value global consistency in our models, and we are a globally distributed team. We enjoy working with each other, and come together each spring for an extended offsite. Ross is a former USGS Senior Scientist; Ross and Volkan worked together at the USGS for seven years before co-founding Temblor. Temblor Earth News publishes breaking earthquake news, in-depth analyses, and expert reporting on the latest developments in natural hazards research. Our articles are written by scientists and science journalists, and are widely read by insurers, scientists, and the public.

Volkan Sevilgen, M.Sc.

Cofounder and CTO

Ross S. Stein, Ph.D.

Cofounder and CEO

Volkan Sevilgen, CTO and co-founder, leads Temblor’s scientific programming and technology development. Volkan received an M.Sc. in Geophysical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in 2006 following a B.Sc. from ITU in 2003. He worked at the USGS, Menlo Park between 2006 – 2014, where he co-authored, developed and taught the Coulomb 3 earthquake stress and deformation software, and managed a four-year probabilistic seismic hazard assessment for the Balkan countries funded by USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. His studies on earthquake hazard and Coulomb stress interaction were published by Nature, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and other distinguished geophysics and seismology journals. He is the past president of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Northern California Chapter.

Ross S. Stein is Temblor CEO and cofounder, Lecturer of Geophysics at Stanford University, and a former USGS Senior Scientist. He was the 2018 Geological Society of America Distinguished International Lecturer, a 2019 Centennial Lecturer of the American Geophysical Union, 2020 Distinguished Lecturer of the Seismological Society of America, and a 2021 College of Fellows Distinguished Lecturer of the American Geophysical Union. Stein has also given the Birch Lecture and the Frontiers of Geophysics Lecture of AGU. A Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and Geological Society of America, Stein is a former editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research, chaired the AGU Board of Journal Editors, and was elected president of AGU’s Tectonophysics section. Stein received the 2012 Gilbert White Natural Hazards Award from AGU, gave a 2012 TEDx talk, ‘Defeating Earthquakes,’ and received the 2000 Eugene Shoemaker Distinguished Achievement Award of the USGS. In 2003, the Science Citation Index reported that Stein was the second most cited author in earthquake science during the preceding decade; he was tenth most cited during 1900-2010. In 2010, Stein cofounded the Global Earthquake Model (GEM Foundation), chairing its Science Board until 2015. Stein is a member of the Advisory Council on Catastrophes of Zurich Insurance.

Serkan leads Temblor’s API, mobile app, web app, and its backend server systems. He is a programmer for high-traffic web sites, e-commerce, social media, content management systems (CMS), and analytics. He is a former entrepreneur and worked for Turkey’s largest sports team conglomerates, digital agencies, e-commerce companies. He studied Chemistry at Bogazici University and received a MA from Istanbul Technical University.

Serkan Sevilgen, MA

Director of Engineering

Shinji is Professor of Earth Sciences at Tohoku University in the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS). Because of its unmatched monitoring networks and high quake rate, Japan is the world’s most important proving ground for seismic innovation and discoveries. Shinji is developing and testing tools with Temblor to capture the change in seismic hazard following large earthquakes.

Shinji Toda, Ph.D.

Geophysicist/Developer

Ali received his Ph.D. from Utrecht University, The Netherlands. His research is focused on the thermal structure and rheology of the lithosphere, continental deformation, crustal stresses, and the connection between the deeper mantle and the near-surface processes. He is also a postdoctoral researcher at Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute of Boğaziçi University.

Ali Değer Özbakir, Ph.D.

Geophysicist/Developer

Andy is principal at ARC AdvisingGroup, and former Senior V.P. for Catastrophe Perils at Swiss Re, where he led modeling and accumulation management for the Americas for two decades. Andy provides Temblor with insights on a variety of complex problems surrounding the economic, regulatory, delivery, and political aspects of natural hazard insurance, reinsurance, and consumer resiliency.

Andrew Castaldi, MBA

Strategic Marketing

Gabriel develops, delivers, and supports Temblor’s catastrophe modeling products. He is experienced in bringing together diverse stakeholders from science, industry, and the general public to reduce the impact of natural hazards on companies and the community. Gabriel received a PhD in Geophysics from Stanford University in 2018.

Gabriel Lotto, Ph.D.

Customer Experience Engineer

Hector received a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Texas at El Paso. His research probes the physics of earthquakes—on how they are triggered and interact. He is also a Research Seismologist at the Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education (CICESE), in Mexico, and a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Texas El Paso.

Hector Gonzalez-Huizar, Ph.D.

Seismologist/Developer

Megan leads Temblor Earth News, orchestrating news coverage, soliciting and editing the stories, and helping researchers communicate with the public. She also created the mentorship and fellowship programs at TEN. Megan is former editor of Geotimes and EARTH Magazines and current independent editor, science writer, and principal of Gneiss Editing. As a science journalist, she has covered the geosciences – especially natural hazards – for more than 20 years.

Megan Sever

Editor in Chief and News Director, Temblor Earth News

Alka received her Ph.D. in Geosciences from Arizona State University in 2011. Her doctoral work focused on thermochronology, geochemistry and remote sensing in the western Himalaya of India. As a postdoc at the Berkeley Geochronology Center, she worked on projects involving the topographic evolution of places like Tibet, Yosemite Valley and the Grand Canyon. Now she’s a science communicator and editor, helping to translate complex scientific information for the public, as well as mentoring scientists who wish to hone their SciComm skills.

Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ph.D.

Science Editor and Externship Coordinator, Temblor Earth News

Ufuk is a Professor of Earthquake Engineering at Istanbul Technical University. He possesses a robust background in structural engineering and his research is centered on earthquake risk management. He received his Ph.D. from ETH Zurich, honored with the ETH Medal. Additionally, his contributions extended to UCSD during his time there as a visiting Fulbright Scholar. Notably, Ufuk served as a vulnerability expert at Swiss Re Cat Perils before his academic appointment.

Ufuk Yazgan, Ph.D.

Dr. Nusret Demir is an Associate Professor in the Remote Sensing division of the Space Science and Technologies Department at Akdeniz University in Antalya. He received his Ph.D. in Geomatic Engineering from ETH Zurich. Dr. Demir is the head of the Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Commission of the Surveying Engineers Chamber of Turkey, co-chair of the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) Working Group WG 1/5 Microwave and InSAR Technology for Earth Observation.

Nusret Demir, Ph.D.