2026 Tandem Training Workshop Report

Bar Oryan, Alice-Agnes Gabriel, Jeena Yun, Yohai Magen, & Dave A. May

Published July 23, 2026, SCEC Contribution #15182

Advances in geodetic, seismic, and geological observations now capture fault slip in far greater detail than was possible only a couple of decades ago. Yet observations alone cannot explain the physical processes that govern the seismic cycle. Physics-based models of Sequences of Earthquakes and Aseismic Slip (SEAS) bridge this gap, and next-generation SEAS models can now incorporate the realistic fault geometries, heterogeneous crust, and tectonic loading that observations reveal. These simulations, however, are technically demanding, and many early-career scientists lack opportunities to develop the numerical modeling and high-performance computing (HPC) skills they require. The 2026 SCEC Tandem Workshop brought together 39 participants from 22 institutions for an intensive 2.5-day, science-driven, hands-on workshop at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD. Invited talks by Brittany Erickson, Pierre Romanet, So Ozawa, and Tom Heaton, together with six participant science talks and two poster sessions, connected the training part to the scientific frontiers of earthquake-cycle research. Guided hands-on sessions then trained participants to design, mesh, launch, visualize, and interpret SEAS simulations with Tandem, an open-source HPC code. To make this possible for users at every level, the organizing team built a dedicated computational ecosystem, including HPC access via the Quakeworx Science Gateway, a pre-configured JupyterLab image on the National Data Platform, and a portable Docker environment, all of which remain openly available to participants. Feedback was strongly positive: the 23 survey responses rated the workshop 4.7/5 for overall value, format, and logistics, and identified the hands-on exercises as the most valuable element.

Citation
Oryan, B., Gabriel, A., Yun, J., Magen, Y., & May, D. A. (2026). 2026 Tandem Training Workshop Report. , : Statewide California Earthquake Center. https://www.scec.org/events/2026-tandem-training-workshop/