Institute for Geophysics

Understanding the Earth and other planets to solve key problems that affect us all. The world needs geophysicists!

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Research Scientists

Below are all of our research scientists and emeriti. To see staff by primary discipline please visit: Climate, Energy, Polar and Planetary, and Marine Geosciences, Seismology and Tectonics. To see research affiliates and fellows visit: Research Affiliates.

    
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Jamie Austin
Sr. Research Scientist
512-471-0450
jamie@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: continental margin
stratigraphy, tsunamigenesic
processes on continental margins, scientific ocean drilling
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Nathan Bangs
Sr. Research Scientist
512-471-0424

nathan@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: faults, structural geology, tectonics, and lithospheric dynamics, climate
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Thorsten Becker
Professor

twb@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: geodynamics, seismology, fault systems
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Athma Bhandari
Research Engineer
512-471-0462

athma.bhandari@utexas.edu
Interests: fluid flow measurements in fine-grained rocks, geomechanics, petrophysics, unconventional energy resources
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Don Blankenship
Sr. Research Scientist
512-471-0489
blank@ig.utexas.edu
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Ginny Catania
Professor
512-471-0403
gcatania@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: glaciology, ice dynamics, climate
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Ian W. D. Dalziel
Research Professor
512-471-0431
ian@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: Earth history, tectonics, Antarctic geology
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Peter B. Flemings
Professor
512-475-8738
pflemings@jsg.utexas.edu
Interests: basin-scale fluid flow, methane hydrates, shale and mudstone permeability
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John A. Goff
Sr. Research Scientist
512-471-0476
goff@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: seafloor mapping, coastal processes, geostatistics
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Cyril Grima
Research Associate
512-471-0377
cyril.grima@utexas.edu
Interests: planet, cryosphere, radar
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Sean P. S. Gulick
Research Professor
512-471-0483
sean@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: marine geology and geophysics, plate boundaries, glacial sequences, impact processes
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Shuoshuo Han
Research Associate
512-471-0415

han@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: subduction zones, oceanic lithosphere, marine geohazards
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Patrick Heimbach
Research Professor
512-232-7694
heimbach@utexas.edu
Interests: climate
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Brian Horton
Professor
512-471-1869
horton@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: tectonics, basin analysis, sediment provenance
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Benjamin Keisling
Research Associate
keisling@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: past climate, ice sheet dynamics, justice in geoscience
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Luc Lavier
Professor
512-471-0455
luc@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: flow and deformation of Earth's materials, tectonics of plate boundaries, computational methods for lithospheric deformation
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Chris Lowery
Research Associate

cmlowery@utexas.edu
Interests: micropaleontology, paleoceanograpgy, stratigraphy
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Yuko Okumura
Research Scientist
512-471-0383
yukoo@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: climate dynamics, ocean-atmosphere interactions, climate variability and change
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Jud Partin
Research Scientist
512-471-6156
jpartin@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: paleoclimate, data-model comparisons, tropical climate
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Alexey Portnov
Research Associate
alexey.portnov@austin.utexas.edu
Interests: marine geology and geophysics, gas hydrate, seafloor methane release, seismic interpretation, permafrost
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Terrence Quinn
Professor
512-471-0464
quinn@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: climate change, paleoclimate, geochemistry
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Cornelia Rasmussen
Research Associate
crasmussen@utexas.edu
Interests: impact cratering, radiogenic and stable isotope geochemistry, paleoecology
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Demian Saffer
Director & Scott Petty Jr. Endowed Chair
Professor, Department of Geological Sciences

512-471-6156
demian.saffer@austin.utexas.edu
Interests: active tectonics, fault/sediment mechanics, geohydrology
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Mrinal K. Sen
Professor and Jackson Chair in Applied Seismology/Associate Director
512-471-0466
mrinal@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: seismology, high performance computing, applied math
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John W. Snedden
Program Director
512-471-0452
jsnedden@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: sequence stratigraphy, basin analysis, reservoir connectivity, process sedimentology
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Krista Soderlund
Research Scientist
512-471-0449
krista@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: planetary interiors, fluid dynamics, magnetohydrodynamics
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Michael L. Sweet
Co-Program Director
281-787-7001
michael.sweet@austin.utexas.edu
Interests: clastic sedimentology, marine geology, reservoir connectivity
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Daniel Trugman
Assistant Professor
dtrugman@jsg.utexas.edu
Interests: earthquake science, ground motion prediction, forensic seismology, nuclear monitoring
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Harm Van Avendonk
Sr. Research Scientist
512-471-0429
harm@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: seismic tomography, marine geophysics, geophysical data analysis
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Laura M. Wallace
Research Scientist
512-471-0324
lwallace@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: tectonics, crustal deformation, earthquakes
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Xiaohua (Eric) Xu
Research Associate
xiaohua.xu@austin.utexas.edu
Interests: satellite geodesy, earthquakes, remote sensing
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Kehua You
Research Associate
kehua@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: gas hydrates, hydrogeology, fluid flow and transport
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Duncan A. Young
Research Scientist
512-471-0485
duncan@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: radioglaciology, airborne geophysics and planetary geophysics
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Zeyu Zhao
Research Associate
zeyu@utexas.edu
Interests: exploration geophysics, seismic imaging, seismology, inverse problems, high performance computing
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Emeriti

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Cliff Frohlich
Sr. Research Scientist Emeritus
512-471-6156
cliff@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: earthquakes, tectonics
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William Galloway
Professor Emeritus
512-471-0494
galloway@austin.utexas.edu
Interests: depositional systems, Gulf of Mexico basin, petroleum geology
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Lawrence Lawver
Sr. Research Scientist Emeritus
512-471-0433
lawver@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: plate tectonics, marine geophysics, polar regions
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Yosio Nakamura
Professor Emeritus
512-471-0428
yosio@ig.utexas.edu
Interest: seismology
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Paul Stoffa
Professor Emeritus
512-471-6156
pauls@ig.utexas.edu
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Frederick W. Taylor
Sr. Research Scientist Emeritus
512-471-0453
fred@ig.utexas.edu
Interests: neotectonics, paleoseismology, paleoclimate
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University of Texas Institute for Geophysics

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10100 Burnet Road (R2200)
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