About Us: The Geodynamics Research Program is part of the Department of Geosciences at the Pennsylvania State University. The Geodynamics Research Group takes an interdisciplinary approach to attacking some of the research problems in Tectonics, Seismology, Lithospheric Deformation and Dynamics, and Plate Tectonics. The group includes faculty, graduate students and undergraduate researchers working on a broad selection of topics, including crustal deformation in Northern California associated with the northward migration of the Mendocino Triple Junction, modeling creep on the Hayward Fault, using GPS to estimate slip rates in Baja California, relocating earthquakes to examine seismicity origins in New Zealand, as well as many other exciting projects concentrating on areas of active tectonics worldwide.  
 

 

12.19.06 This year has been a busy one for the geodynamics research group, and has included trips to several national conferences (SSA, San Francisco in April; GSA, Philadelphia in October; AGU, San Francisco in December, as well as several smaller workshops), and field work in California and New Zealand. In August, Courtney Johnson completed her Masters degree related to a potential blind thrust system beneath Mt Tamalpias, Bay Area, California, and has now moved to a position at GeoMatrix in Oakland. Gavin Hayes (5th year PhD) spent the summer as an intern with the NEIC in Golden, CO, and is currently in the final stages of his PhD. He recently presented work on relocations and rupture processes of large plate boundary earthquakes in New Zealand at AGU (see his website). Kevin Furlong has continued his research in Northern California and New Zealand, as well as several education-related projects, and has recently received national funding for continued work in these areas. At AGU, he presented work on studies in both California and New Zealand, and a poster related to collaborations with the NEIC (see his website). He is currently preparing for further fieldwork in New Zealand. Both Kevin Furlong and Gavin Hayes will also be attending the 4th Annual Northern California Earthquake Hazards Workshop in January.

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