Kerry E. Sieh is an American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

seismologist 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 ...

. Sieh's principal research interest is

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

, which uses geological layers and landforms to understand the geometries of

active fault An active fault is a fault that is likely to become the source of another earthquake sometime in the future. Geologists commonly consider faults to be active if there has been movement observed or evidence of seismic activity during the last 10,0 ...

s, the earthquakes they generate, and the crustal structure their movements produce. His early work on the

San Andreas fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip (horizontal) ...

led to the discovery of how often and how regularly it produces large earthquakes in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

. Sieh received his undergraduate degree in geology from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban dist ...

in 1972 and his Ph.D. degree in geology from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

in 1977. He was a professor of

at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

from 1986 to 2009. Soon after joining Caltech, Sieh was recognized by the ''Los Angeles Times'' as a "Rising Star" in Southern California in 1988. Sieh is a member of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the N ...

(since 1999). In 2009, Sieh became the director of

Nanyang Technological University The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various in ...

's Earth Observatory. He is the first holder of the AXA-NTU Chair on Natural Hazards in Southeast Asia established in 2012.

Awards and honors

* Harry Fielding Reid Medal, 2014 * LGBTQ Scientist of the Year Award, National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals, 2006 * Fellow,

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's ...

, 2001 *

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

, member, 1999 * Fellow,

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...

, 1996 * National Academy of Sciences Award for Initiatives in Research, 1982 * E.B. Burwell, Jr., Memorial Award of the Engineering Geology Division,

, 1980

Publications

* ''"Geology of Earthquakes"'' with Robert S. Yeats and Clarence R. Allen. Oxford University Press (1997) * ''"The Earth in Turmoil: Earthquakes and Volcanos and Their Impact on Humankind"'' with

Simon LeVay Simon LeVay (born 28 August 1943 in Oxford, England) is a British-American neuroscientist. He received a bachelor's degree in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1966, a Ph.D. in Neuroanatomy at the University of Göttingen ...

. W. H. Freeman & Sons (1998) * ''"Living on an Active Earth: Perspectives on Earthquake Science"'' as part of the Committee on the Science of Earthquakes, National Research Council. National Academies Press (2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sieh, Kerry Living people American geologists California Institute of Technology faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Stanford University alumni American seismologists American LGBT scientists Fellows of the Geological Society of America Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Year of birth missing (living people)