Jeffrey Park
Mailing address: PO Box 208109, New Haven CT 06520-8109 Street address: 210 Whitney Ave, New Haven CT 06511
Theoretical Seismology, Geological Time Series Analysis,
Structure of the Earth’s Interior, and Paleoclimate
February 2001 field trip to the Northern Apennines, Italy
Environmental Studies at Yale College: An interdisciplinary undergraduate major
Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies
Yale Seismology Codes and Useful Files
Multiple Taper Spectrum analysis code described in Lees, J., and J. Park, Multiple-taper spectral analysis: A stand-alone C- subroutine, Computers & Geosciences, v21, 199-236, 1995.
PLOTIT subroutine for on-the-fly plots within Fortran programs
Background
I am originally from Orange County, California. My interest in the earth sciences began began after the 1971 earthquake in Sylmar, California tossed me from my bed. I was introduced to plate tectonics the following year and was hooked on earth science for life. I received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics from Princeton University in 1979, where I worked as a go-fer in the geology department. I gave my first talk at an AGU meeting in 1980, arguing against a theory that large earthquakes could cause observable changes in the Earth’s rotation axis. I received my Doctorate in Earth Sciences in 1985 from the University of California, San Diego. From 1985-1986, I did a post doc at Princeton University and from 1986 I have been on the faculty of Yale University.
Offices Held
- (2008-2011) Director, Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies
- (2002-2008) Chairman, Environmental Studies Program, Yale College
- (2005-2007) Chairman, Standing Committee of the IRIS Global Seismographic Network
- (2000-2002) President, Seismology Section of the American Geophysical Union
- (2002-2004) Member of Governing Board, American Institute of Physics (AIP)
- (1992-1994) Chairman of Executive Committee, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS)
Current Research
- Mapping mantle flow associated with plate tectonics, using seismic anisotropy.
- Using scattered seismic waves, and seismic anisotropy, to infer aligned cracks and rock fabrics in the crust.
Teaching Philosophy
I like to advise students who have an active curiosity, and give them a lot of freedom to define
projects that capture their interest. However, I try to start a student on a small well-defined
initial project so that he or she can produce something interesting in a reasonable amount of
time and gain some perspective on possible dissertation projects. Students of mine with good
quantitative and computer skills have often found themselves presenting talks at meetings after a few months of research.