| 1 | Name: | Dr. Thomas H. Jordan | |
| Institution: | Southern California Earthquake Center; University of Southern California | ||
| Year Elected: | 2002 | ||
| Class: | 1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 105. Physical Earth Sciences | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1948 | ||
Thomas H. Jordan received his Ph.D. in geophysics and applied mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in 1972. He has taught at Princeton University, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served as head of MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences from 1988-98. In 2000 he moved to the University of Southern California where he currently serves as University Professor of Earth Sciences. In 2002 he also became the Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center. Dr. Jordan is a geophysicist interested in the composition, dynamics, and evolution of the solid earth. His research concerns seismology, plate tectonics, the formation of continents, mantle structure, earthquakes and fault systems. He developed seismological techniques to make major discoveries about the three-dimensional structure of the earth's deep interior. He found that continental cratons have an underlying deep structure that translates with the continents during plate motions, and he discovered that lithospheric slabs penetrate deep into the lower mantle, demonstrating that the mantle convection system responsible for plate tectonics extends throughout the mantle. He has done seminal work on plate motions and plate-boundary deformations, slow earthquakes, and seafloor morphology. Dr. Jordan's contributions have been recognized with the James B. Macelwane Award from the American Geophysical Union in 1983, the George P. Woollard Award from the Geological Society of America in 1998, and the National Associate Award of the National Academy of Sciences in 2001. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2002. | |||