Earthquakes occur on a massive scale and often originate deep below the surface of the Earth, making them notoriously difficult to predict. The Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) and its lead scientist, Thomas Jordan, use massive computing power made possible by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve our understanding of earthquakes. In doing so, SCEC is helping to provide long-term earthquake forecasts and more accurate hazard assessments. One SCEC effort in particular, the PressOn project, aims to create more physically-realistic, wave-based earthquake simulations using an earthquake model they developed called CyberShake, which calculates how earthquake waves ripple through a 3-D model of the ground. http://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/blue-waters-and-titan-help-scec-gain-insights-about-earthquakes/.