Seth Stein

William Deering Professor
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
1850 Campus Drive
Northwestern University,  Evanston, IL 60208
Telephone: (847) 491-5265   FAX:(847) 491-8060
email: seth AT earth.northwestern.edu
(substitute "@" for AT)

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Carol and me at the Loma Prieta earthquake epicenter
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Hiking near the Mendenhall glacier, Alaska
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Rachel and me in the Des Plaines River canoe marathon

My research focuses on investigating plate boundary processes and deformation within the lithosphere using a range of techniques including space-based geodesy, seismology, and marine geophysics. These include ongoing studies of the New Madrid seismic zone, the 2001 Bhuj earthquake in India, the 2004 Sumatra earthquake, earthquake recurrence and hazards, and the Andes. Some studies, focusing on the thermal evolution of oceanic lithosphere, are cooperative projects with my wife Carol, who is on the faculty at the University of Illinois, Chicago. We try to do science, teach, advise students, and survive as the working parents of a teenage daughter, which is a bit hectic at times.

Short biography

Full c.v. and publications, some downloadable

Graduate advising

Class material for Earth & Planetary Sciences 102: Lake Michigan and the Chicago River

Class material for Earth & Planetary Sciences 107: Our Dynamic Planet

Class material for Earth & Planetary Sciences 202: Earth's Interior

Class material for Earth & Planetary Sciences 324: Earthquakes and Tectonics

Class material for Earth & Planetary Sciences 326: Data analysis for the earth & planetary sciences

Class material for Earth & Planetary Sciences 438: Forming a habitable planet

Climate change effects field trip to Glacial Park and Volo Bog

Presentations:

2006 IRIS/SSA lecture: "Giant earthquakes: Why, Where, When, and What We Can Do"

2010 Stephan Mueller medal lecture at European Geosciences Union: "Migrating earthquakes and faults switching on and off: A complex system view of midcontinent earthquakes"

2009 George Woollard Award lecture at GSA: "New view of New Madrid: little motion, complex faults, small hazard"

2010 S. T. Crough memorial lecture at Purdue University: "Disaster Deferred: How new science is changing our view of earthquakes in the midwest"

Lectures for IRIS summer intern orientation on earthquakes, earth structure, earthquake prediction and hazards, and the Haiti & Sichuan earthquakes

Lecture series: "Studying neotectonics with plate motion, seismological & GPS data"

"Using space geodetic data to teach about tectonics, earthquakes, and hazards"

Lecture series for China Earthquake Authority delegation: "Using earthquake science to predict earthquake hazards and reduce earthquake risks: using what we know and recognizing what we don't"

"Teaching introductory geophysics: what our students don't know, need to, and what we can do"

"The student pipeline, future of seismology, and what E&O might do"

"The December 26, 2004 Sumatra earthquake and Indian Ocean tsunami"

"Science, hazard, and policy issues for continental intraplate earthquakes: a view from New Madrid"

Educational Resources

Boobytrap - a model for midcontinental earthquakes

Introduction to earthquake probabilities with spreadsheet

A simple, cheap, and easy slider block model for earthquakes

Other demonstrations and labs

GSA Today Article: Formation of Northwestern's Environmental Science Major, 1996

Earth Magazine Article: Understanding Earthquake Hazard Maps (pdf), 2009

EOS Article & WWW info: Upgrading a beginning geophysics course, 1997