Dr. Kate Hutton, staff seismologist in the Seismological Laboratory at Caltech, will lecture on “The Largest Earthquake in 40 Years,” discussing the recent South Asian earthquake and tsunami. The lunch-time talk will begin promptly at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 25 in the Hampton Room of the Malott Commons (9th and Columbia) on the Scripps College campus.
Come prepared to learn something about plate tectonics, subduction zones, megathrusts, tsunami warning systems, and some of the wet history of the world’s tsunamis. Also find out what places in the world are capable of producing magnitude nine or more earthquakes.
At Caltech, Hutton is responsible for data processing of Southern California earthquakes. She often answers questions from the public and news media following earthquakes. She has a bachelor in science from Penn State University, and a master in science and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland (1974 & 1976). All of these degrees are in astronomy. She points out that her career path is not as strange as it sounds for an astronomer, since Earth is, after all, a planet.
Sponsored by the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Commons, this talk is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests may bring their own lunch or purchase a lunch at the Malott Commons Dining Hall, which opens at 11:15 a.m. Doors to the Hampton Room open at 11:45 a.m. For additional program information, please call the Malott Commons Office, (909) 607-9372.