The EPO Standing Committee met virtually on October 9 and 16, 2020. The attendees for part or all of the meeting included: John Taber, Katherine Ellins, Vince Cronin, Alex Nikulin, Wesley Brown, Deborah Kilb, Eric Riggs, Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, Perle Dorr, Mladen Dordevic, Michael Hubenthal, Wendy Bohon, Danielle Sumy, Tammy Bravo, Bob Woodward, Donna Charlevoix
The meeting began with a review of the minutes and action items from the previous meeting, followed by a presentation and discussion on EPO program highlights over the past 6 months and the staff priorities for the next 6 months. The IRIS Board guidance to the committees was reviewed, followed by a discussion on the status and planning for the IRIS/UNAVCO merger. This was followed by a discussion of the cancellation of the 2020 REU program and the plans for summer 2021. Next, the GAGE/SAGE workshop was discussed, including the cancellation of the 2020 meeting and the plans for 2021. The future of the IRIS/SSA Distinguished Lecturer program was then discussed, focused on potential options presented by committee and staff members. Then there was a presentation and discussion regarding the 2020 Seismic Skill Building Workshop and the options for future online education initiatives. The day finished with an overview of the Simpson Fund and submitted proposals.
The 2nd day began with a more in-depth discussion of future opportunities for online education and professional development. Then there was a presentation and discussion on IRIS DEI planning activities. This was followed by a discussion of the proposals submitted to the Simpson Fund and an agreement was reached on a recommendation for the Board. Next was the usual committee-only executive session. After the end of the executive session, there was an update on UNAVCO ECE activities. This was followed by a discussion of potential NSF SAGE II Y2 EPO budget carryover usage and a discussion of scope management through the end of the NSF SAGE II award. Then there was a discussion of IRIS EPO/UNAVCO ECE committee alignment and merger planning. This was followed by the creation of a list of cross-program issues and information items for the Board that the EPOSC desired to be brought to the upcoming CoCom meeting. The meeting concluded with the creation of a short list of potential new members for the EPOSC for 2021 to replace those committee members who are rotating off the committee.
