Emily Brodsky

Emily Brodsky is a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. As an earthquake physicist, she studies the mechanics underlying earthquakes, addressing questions about the processes that trigger earthquakes and the constraining forces and processes that occur inside a fault zone during slip. These studies require expertise in a variety of geoscience disciplines, including seismology, hydrogeology, structural geology, and rock mechanics.

After the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake off the coast of Japan, Brodsky helped organize and lead a major international expedition to study the fault. Her recent work includes important findings about earthquakes induced by human activities in which fluids are injected deep underground (e.g., hydraulic fracturing, wastewater disposal, and geothermal wells).

Brodsky earned her A.B. from Harvard University in 1995 and Ph.D. in geophysics from the California Institute of Technology in 2001. A fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the Geological Society of America (GSA), she received the inaugural 2005 Charles Richter Early Career Award from the Seismological Society of America, the 2008 James Macelwane Medal from the AGU, the 2019 Woollard Award from the GSA, the AGU Gutenberg Lectureship in 2019, and the 2021 Price Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. Brodsky was selected as a distinguished lecturer for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Earthscope program, the NSF GeoPRISMS program, the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), and the National Science Board. She has served on the boards of directors of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) and the Incorporated Research Institutes for Seismology (IRIS), and she is currently chair of SZ4D, a coordinated research initiative to study subduction zones. She has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles and has presented over 150 invited lectures in 30 states and 13 countries. Her work was been featured in major media outlets such as the BBC, NPR, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Time magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. She has mentored 17 postdoctoral scientists, 19 graduate students, and 21 undergraduate student researchers, many of whom have gone on to be leaders in the field.

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Education

California Institute of Technology, Sep 95-Oct 00, Ph.D.
Harvard University, Sep 91-Jun 95, B.A. Magna cum laude

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Awards

2023 Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences
2022 Nemmers Award in Earth Science
2021 Price Medal Royal Astronomical Society
2019 Fellow of the Geological Society of America
2019 George P. Wollard Award of the Geological Society of America
2019 Gutenberg Lecturer of the American Geophysical Union
2017-2018 IODP Ocean Discovery Distinguished Lecturer
2010 Geo-Prisms Distinguished Lecturer
2009 Earthscope Distinguished Lecturer
2008 American Geophysical Union Macelwane Award
2006 Seismological Society of America Richter Award