EARTHQUAKE SCIENTIST

Understanding earthquakes
from faults to seismic hazard.

Dr. Sezim Guvercin is an earthquake scientist who combines seismic observations, experimental rock mechanics, and physics-based earthquake-cycle modeling to investigate how fault properties shape earthquake behavior and seismic hazard.

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RESEARCH ACROSS SCALES

Observe. Experiment. Simulate. Forecast.

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Seismicity and focal mechanism maps of an active fault system

OBSERVE

Seismology & Seismotectonics

How do active faults accumulate strain, interact, and rupture?

Fault structure — seismicity, mechanisms & crustal imaging
Fault behavior — deformation, coupling & aseismic creep
Rupture dynamics — segmentation, aftershocks & earthquake sequences

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EXPERIMENT

Rock Mechanics & Fault Properties

How do fault rocks transition between stable sliding and frictional instability?

Reproduce fault conditions — high-temperature, high-pressure hydrothermal triaxial experiments
Measure frictional response — velocity-step tests under controlled stress, temperature, pore pressure, and slip rate
Model frictional behavior across scales — connect laboratory-scale frictional processes to natural fault behavior

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SIMULATE

Physics-Based Earthquake-Cycle Modeling

How do fault properties shape earthquake behavior over multiple seismic cycles?

Build physics-based rheology models — integrate fault geometry, frictional properties, thermal structure, and tectonic loading
Simulate earthquake cycles over thousands of years — resolve a full range of slip distributions
Identify controls on rupture behavior — quantify how fault heterogeneity governs segmentation, recurrence, rupture extent, and aseismic creep

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