As the earth's population increases, so does the number of people who live along fault lines. In the United States, for example, 75 million people live in towns and cities at risk for earthquake devastation. Now scientists at 15 universities across the U.S. are conducting experiments on the impact earthquakes have on soil and building foundations.

At the University of California at Berkeley, researchers are putting a test column under 1800 tons of pressure.

Professor Nick Sitari is collecting data to see how different structures hold up in an earthquake.

"When we look at earthquake engineering, you know of course, you're always concerned with big structures, buildings, the Bay Bridge, something like that. Obviously, it's impossible to bring one of those buildings into the laboratory, or alternatively, to test it full scale," said Sitari.

So he tests it in a laboratory by using a new, high-powered seismic testing machine.

"We can actually use several different laboratories to do experiments in at the same time," noted Sitari.

The 15 universities involved in the experiment will share their test results. The goal is to improve the safety of buildings and bridges and the lifelines that hold American society together -- water, electricity, fuel lines and telecommunications cables -- so they can stand up to an earthquake.