Bruce Bolt

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Bruce Bolt in 1986

Bruce Alan Bolt (born February 15, 1930 in Largs , New South Wales , † July 21, 2005 in Oakland , California ) was an American seismologist and is considered one of the pioneers of earthquake engineering . Bolt was professor of seismology at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and from 1963 to 1991 director of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory (BSL), he retired in 1993. In addition to seismological literature and standard works, Bolt also wrote two popular science books. The native Australian became a US citizen while in California.

Career

Bolt studied at the University of Sydney , where he received his bachelor 's degree in 1952 and his master's degree in applied mathematics in 1955, and his doctorate in 1959. From 1954 to 1962 he taught applied mathematics in Sydney, during which time he developed his interest in mathematical modeling of the earth's interior.

As part of the Fulbright program , he completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Lamont Geological Observatory (now Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory ) in New York . During this time he attended the Department of Geodesy and Geophisic at the University of Cambridge in England, where he met Perry Byerly and John Verhogen, both professors at UC Berkeley. They were very impressed with him and invited him to come to UC Berkeley. He accepted this invitation and in 1963 succeeded Byerly as director of Berkeley Seismological Stations (now Berkeley Seismological Laboratory , BSL).

Activity in Berkeley

For 28 years, until 1991, Bolt was the director of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. During this time he visited many of the major earthquake areas and gave lectures on earthquakes and earthquake disasters. He participated in numerous committees, including the California Seismic Safety Commission, of which he was a member for 15 years and of which he was chairman for a year. Bolt was considered one of the most influential people in California when it came to measures to improve earthquake safety. In addition to his university duties, Bolt was also a consultant on all major construction projects in California where earthquake safety was a concern, such as the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant . He also oversaw many international projects, for example the Trans-Alaska Pipeline or the Aswan Dam .

Bolt also investigated the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . He found that the epicenter of this quake was not, as previously assumed, in Olema in Marin County - where the destruction was greatest - but further south near Daly City in San Mateo County - where the San Andreas Fault was just about to open off the coast before returning to land north of the Golden Gate . At the Museum of the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, he was involved in the design of the simulator to illustrate the 1906 earthquake. On the 100th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake, he was supposed to speak in April 2006, but that never happened because he died in July 2005 after a brief episode of cancer.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Robert Sanders: Seismologist and earthquake hazard expert Bruce Bolt dies at 75. In: UC Berkley News. July 2005
  2. ^ David Perlman: Bruce Bolt - earthquake expert toiled for public's safety. July 2005
  3. ↑ Sentker, Wigger (ed.): Planet Earth. Page 174, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-8274-1991-0
personal data
SURNAME Bolt, Bruce
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bolt, Bruce Alan (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American seismologist
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Largs , New South Wales
DATE OF DEATH July 21, 2005
Place of death Oakland , California