Purdue University announced today that it has received $105 million from the National Science Foundation to fund a center to research earthquakes and tsunamis.

The five-year grant is the largest in the university’s history and will fund the center that will serve as headquarters for the Davis, Calif.-based George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation.

Purdue will connect 14 NEES research sites nationwide and will begin operating Oct. 1. It will be located in the university’s Discovery Learning Research Center in Discovery Park in West Lafayette.

“Purdue’s depth of knowledge in earthquake engineering, innovative high-performance computing experts, education professionals and outstanding interdisciplinary research abilities allow the university to make great contributions to this area,” Purdue President France A. Cordova said in a written statement.

The center is expected to help researchers share information and equipment, with the goal of reducing the number of deaths resulting from earthquakes and tsunamis. The U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Va., estimates that earthquakes have been responsible for about 462,000 deaths worldwide in the past decade.

The center is expected to create more than 20 full-time jobs and five graduate student positions. NEES was founded in 2000.