Bruce Alan Bolt (February 15, 1930 – July 21, 2005) was an Australian-born American
seismologist and a professor of earth and planetary science at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. Professor Bolt was known as a pioneer of engineering
seismology
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
. He served for 15 years on the California Seismic Safety Commission leading public debate on earthquake safety in that state, and acted as a consultant on major projects throughout the world. As well, Bolt published a number of popular and technical books on seismology.
His research led to construction of
earthquake resilient bridges and buildings.
Bolt was elected to the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...
"for application of the principles of seismology and applied mathematics to engineering decisions and public policy”.
Since 2006, there is an award with his name, the
Bruce A. Bolt Medal, to recognize individuals worldwide whose accomplishments involve the promotion and use of strong-motion earthquake data and whose leadership in the transfer of scientific and engineering knowledge into practice or policy has led to improved seismic safety.
Early life and career
Bolt was born in
Largs, New South Wales
Largs is a developing township adjacent to Bolwarra Heights and is a suburb in the City of Maitland in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the eastern side of the Hunter River, 6 km north of the Maitland CBD. A ...
just north of
Maitland
Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...
in 1930. He studied at the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...
obtaining his bachelor's degree in 1952, a master's degree in 1955 and a doctorate in applied mathematics in 1959.
He also lectured at Sydney University in mathematics but developed an interest in mathematical modelling of the Earth's interior. He obtained a D. Sc from Sydney University in 1972 while working at Berkeley. After visiting the
Lamont Geological Observatory in New York, he visited the Department of Geodesy and Geophysics at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
where he met Professors
Perry Byerly and
John Verhoogen of UC Berkeley who invited him there.
Career at Berkeley and consultant on seismology
Bolt started as director of the Berkeley Seismological Stations (now the
Berkeley Seismological Laboratory
The Berkeley Seismological Laboratory (BSL) is a research lab at the Department of Geology at the University of California, Berkeley. It was created from the Berkeley Seismographic Stations, a site on the Berkeley campus where Worldwide Standard S ...
) in 1963 and served in that position until 1991. In that position, he was at the forefront of seismology especially as a pioneer of engineering seismology. He identified the impact of near-fault effects of earthquakes as well as the "fling" where the fault slips during an earthquake which has a strong impact on structures near the quake. Professor Bolt was elected to the US
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...
in 1978 as recognition for his contribution to that profession. As director of the Berkeley Seismology Center, Bolt pioneered the use of digital recordings rather than paper readouts to read data.
Bolt identified that the
epicenter
The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates.
Surface damage
Before the instrumental pe ...
of the
1906 San Francisco earthquake was near
Daly City, California
Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...
not near
Olema, California
Olema (Miwok: ''Olemaloke'') is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located on Olema Creek south-southeast of Point Reyes Station, at an elevation of 69 feet (21 m).
Olema is along State Route 1 at its intersectio ...
in
Marin County as had been previously thought. He also helped to design a simulation of the 1906 quake at the
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...
museum in
Golden Gate Park which has been seen by millions of people. He has written a number of works including ''Earthquakes: a Primer'' in 1978 and ''Inside the Earth: Evidence from Earthquakes'' in 1982.
Professor Bolt served on the California Seismic Safety Commission for 15 years including a year as chairman in 1986. In that position, he had a significant impact on California's earthquake safety legislation and helped to create that states mandatory system of earthquake hazard mapping.
Bruce retired from teaching in 1993 and became professor emeritus of seismology, thus continuing his academic activities until his death. He was a consultant on seismology for every major
earthquake engineering project including on the
Diablo Canyon Power Plant
The Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a nuclear power plant near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California. Since the permanent shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013, Diablo Canyon has been the only operational nu ...
as well as international projects including the
Aswan Dam
The Aswan Dam, or more specifically since the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam, is one of the world's largest embankment dams, which was built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. Its significance largely eclipsed the previous Aswan L ...
, the
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one o ...
and
BART
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
tube under the
San Francisco Bay.
After the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, he started to work on characterizing the seismic sources and assessing tsunami risk.
This probably was his last work as consultant on seismology.
Bolt died of
pancreatic cancer in July 2005 at the
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser ...
Medical Center in
Oakland.
He was a citizen of the US at the time of his death.
Scientific and academic positions and recognitions
During his career, professor Bolt served as a member of a number of important scientific and academic organizations, including:
* President of the California Academy of Sciences between 1982 and 1985;
* Member of the Board of Trustees for the California Academy of Sciences between 1981–92 and again in 1999;
* President of the Academic Senate at Berkeley in 1992-93; and
* President of the Faculty Club at Berkeley between 1994 and 2004;
* President of the
Seismological Society of America
The Seismological Society of America (SSA) is an international scientific society devoted to the advancement of seismology and the understanding of earthquakes for the benefit of society. Founded in 1906, the society has members throughout the wo ...
in 1974;
* Bulletin editor of the Seismological Society of America between 1965 and 1972; and
* President of the
International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior between 1980 and 1983.
* Chairman of the California Seismic Safety Commission.
Bruce Bolt received many awards for his scientific achievements, among them:
* The Berkeley Citation in 1993.
* Alfred E. Alquist Special Recognition Medal, in 1994.
* Distinguished Lecture Award of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, in 1998.
* George W. Housner Medal, in 2000.
In 1995, Bolt delivered the fifth Mallet-Milne memorial lecture (entitled ''From Earthquake Acceleration to Seismic Displacement'') for the
Society for Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics The Society for Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics (SECED) was founded in 1969 to promote the study and practice of earthquake engineering and structural dynamics, including blast, impact and other vibration problems. It also supports study o ...
, in London.
In 2006, the
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute jointly with the
Seismological Society of America
The Seismological Society of America (SSA) is an international scientific society devoted to the advancement of seismology and the understanding of earthquakes for the benefit of society. Founded in 1906, the society has members throughout the wo ...
established an award in his name, The
Bruce A. Bolt Medal, to recognize individuals worldwide whose accomplishments involve the promotion and use of strong-motion earthquake data and whose leadership in the transfer of scientific and engineering knowledge into practice or policy has led to improved seismic safety.
Written works
Professor Bolt wrote six textbooks and edited eight book on earthquakes, geology and computers among other topics.
* ''Geophysics'' Editor Academic Press New York 1973
* ''Geological Hazards: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, Avalanches, Landslides, Floods'' editor 1975 and 1977 Springer-Verlag New York
* ''Nuclear Explosions and Earthquakes: the Parted Veil'' W.H. Freeman San Francisco 1976
* ''Earthquakes: A Primer'' W.H. Freeman San Francisco 1978 .
* ''Inside the Earth: Evidence from Earthquakes'' W.H. Freeman San Francisco 1982
* ''Earthquakes'' 5 editions 1987-2003, 2003 edition published by W. H. Freeman New York
* ''Earthquakes: 2006 Centennial Update'' W. H. Freeman; Fifth Edition (August 5, 2005) and
* ''Earthquakes and Geological Discovery'' Scientific American Library New York 1993
He also wrote almost 200 research papers, including:
*
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolt, Bruce
1930 births
2005 deaths
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Australian emigrants to the United States
American seismologists
Fellows of the Seismological Society of America
American geophysicists
University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty
Deaths from cancer in California
People from New South Wales
Scientists from the San Francisco Bay Area
People who lost Australian citizenship