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George Plafker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Plafker
Born (1929-03-06) March 6, 1929 (age 95)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBrooklyn College
University of California, Berkeley
Stanford University
AwardsPenrose Medal
Scientific career
FieldsGeology, Seismology
InstitutionsU.S. Army Corps of Engineers
United States Geological Survey
Chevron Corporation

George Plafker is an American geologist and seismologist who has made significant contributions to both fields, with research focused on subduction, tsunami, and the geology of Alaska. Following prolonged study of the region of the 1964 Alaska earthquake, Plafker correctly concluded that the largest earthquakes are the result of fault slip at convergent boundaries. This was at a time when the theory of plate tectonics was still not completely accepted by the scientific community. Additional studies were done in Chile in the late 1960s regarding the series of earthquakes there.[1]

Awards

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For his groundbreaking research, Plafker was honored with the Penrose Medal by the Geological Society of America and the Harry Fielding Reid Medal from the Seismological Society of America, both in 2017.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ Fuis, G. S.; Haeusslerb, P J.; Atwater, B. F. (2014), "A tribute to George Plafker", Quaternary Science Reviews, 113, Elsevier: 3–7, doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.11.010
  2. ^ Seismological Society of America (May 11, 2017). "George Plafker wins top honor in seismology" (Press release). Eurekalert!.
  3. ^ Geological Society of America (July 6, 2017). "Geological Society of America honors Excellence in Geoscience for 2017" (Press release). Eurekalert!.
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