B.S. with Honors, Engineering Physics (Geoscience specialty)
 
 U.C. Berkeley, 1970
Ph.D. Marine Geophysics, M.I.T./Woods Hole, 1975

Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2013  
Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2007  
My research as a marine geophysicist has focused primarily on the mid-ocean ridge, the most active geologic feature on the planet, using whatever geophysical or geological tools I could employ to study the tectonics of this complex system. Some the areas I see as promising for future research include:
the fundamental segmentation of mid-ocean ridges and the significance of ridge-axis discontinuities including overlapping spreading centers to the creation of oceanic crust, the processes responsible for the creation and deformation of oceanic crust particularly through the study of marine magnetic anomalies and quantitative geomorphology, and the importance of hydrothermal vent systems to the heat balance of the ridge. So much is still not known that I look forward to many more exciting discoveries and insights in the future as we continue to explore the mid-ocean ridge.

The mid-ocean ridge offers extraordinary opportunities for interdisciplinary research. The supply of magma to the ridge controls the geochemistry of erupted lavas, the magnetization of the crust and the location of seafloor hydrothermal systems; which in turn control the distribution of exotic benthic faunal communities. For example, if one plots the occurrence of hydrothermal vents versus axial depth, cross-sectional area or even crustal magnetization, there is an excellent correlation! These linkages provide rich opportunities for cross-disciplinary research.