At Work: Gilead Wurman

Gilead Wurman

3 November 2021–Seismic hazard analyses may use ergodic ground motion models—a sort of “average” based on global data about ground motion—or non-ergodic models, which incorporate more local and regional data on seismic source and nearby geologic structures. Having that site-specific analysis can make a big difference, as consulting seismologist Gilead … Continue Reading »

At Work: Songqiao “Shawn” Wei

Shawn Wei

20 September 2021–Growing up in the mountains in China, Songqiao “Shawn” Wei never saw the ocean until he was 23, flying over the Pacific from Beijing to San Francisco for an American Geophysical Union meeting. “But when I was a kid I liked the sea, from books and movies, and … Continue Reading »

At Work: Louisa Brotherson

Louisa Brotherson

16 August 2021–Earthquakes are happening all the time inside Louisa Brotherson’s lab. Tiny ones, at least—and the strike-slip faults involved occur in Perspex plastic, not rock. Using a machine called a triaxial deformation apparatus, Brotherson can apply different pressures and stresses on the plastic to mimic the conditions that lead … Continue Reading »

At Work: Kristine Pankow

Kris Pankow in the field

17 June 2021–Kristine Pankow’s Ph.D. research involved subduction zones—specifically, modeling shear wave structure of a subducting slab off the eastern coast of Russia. But when she began looking for jobs after receiving the degree, an offer from the University of Utah Seismograph Stations turned her sights further inland. “This was … Continue Reading »