Dominican engineer named vice president of global earthquake research institute

Dominican engineer Ashley Morales-Cartagena has been elected vice president for the 2026 term of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), one of the world’s leading organizations focused on seismic risk and earthquake resilience. Her selection was unanimous by the institute’s board of directors after serving three years as a council member, making her the first Dominican woman to hold the position.

Morales-Cartagena said she will use the role to promote research and analysis of seismic risk in the Dominican Republic while encouraging broader discussions on structural safety and resilient urban development. She emphasized the need to prioritize safer buildings and adopt a multi-hazard approach to risk management across the region.

In addition to her work with EERI, she is a professor and researcher who directs the Center for Resilience and Multi-Hazard Risk Research at the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) and leads the firm GeoRisk Consulting. Morales-Cartagena is also the founder of Mujeres en la Ingeniería RD, a community that supports the professional development of Dominican women in engineering. She earned a master’s degree in geotechnical engineering with a seismic focus from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a Fulbright Program scholar and has received several honors from organizations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers.