Research
I study active earthquake and volcanic process through data collection, inversion, and theoretical modeling. Using techniques such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) my students and I are able to measure deformation in space and time and invert these data for the geometry of faults and magma chambers, and spatiotemporal variations in fault slip-rate and magma chamber dilation. We use these results to develop and test models of active plate boundaries such as the San Andreas, and the Cascade subduction zone, the nucleation of earthquakes, slow slip events, and the physics of magma migration leading to volcanic eruptions.
Teaching
I teach introductory undergraduate classes in natural hazards and the prediction of volcanic eruptions, as well as graduate level courses on modeling earthquake and volcano deformation and geophysical inverse theory.
Professional Activities
James B. Macelwane Medal, American Geophysical Union (1990); fellow, American Geophysical Union (1990); fellow, Geological Society of America (1997); president, Tectonophysics Section, AGU (2002-04); U.S.G.S. Science of Earthquakes Advisory Committee (2002-06); California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Committee (2003-07); chair, Plate Boundary Observatory Steering Committee (2003-06); N.S.F. Panel, Instruments and Facilities Program (1997-2000); associate editor, Journal of Geophysical Research (1984-87). William Smith Lecturer, Geological Society of London (2011). Charles A. Whitten Medal, American Geophysical Union (2014), National Academy of Sciences (2016)
