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John Ebel
Professor, Geology and Geophysics Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Director, Weston Observatory
B.A. Harvard University
Ph.D. California Institute of Technology
Analysis of earthquakes worldwide; seismology in general and Northeast seismology in particular; the distribution and causes of New England seismicity and the potential for major earthquakes in the area; geomagneticism; weather, climate and the environment, including climate changes on time scales from centuries to millennia. A seasoned commentator on the strength and effect of many earthquakes over the past decade, Ebel is director of Boston College's Weston Observatory, an interdisciplinary research facility in the fields of geophysics, geology, energy and environmental sciences, which operates a large network of seismic stations throughout New England. Has served on the Seismic Risk Analysis subcommittee of the Massachusetts Civil Defense Agency Earthquake Project Advisory Committee; the Metropolitan Boston Earthquake Loss Study Evaluation and Selection Committee; the Seismic Hazard Assessment Panel of the National Research Council; and serves on the Board of Directors of the Seismological Society of America, among other memberships. Editor of Seismological Research Letters; author or co-author of numerous articles and abstracts on earthquake-related subjects. Courses include: "Exploration Seismology"; "Physics of the Earth"; "Inverse Theory in Geophysics"; "Weather, Climate and the Environment."
617.552.3399 (Campus Office)
617.552.8319 (Weston Observatory Office)
john.ebel.1@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/geo/people/faculty/ebel.html
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Rudolph Hon
Associate Professor, Geology and Geophysics Department
College of Arts & Sciences
M.S. Charles University (Prague)
Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Radon; radon emissions from granites, particularly those found in New England, which he has found emit more of the radioactive gas than previously had been suspected; subsurface geology [via a recent project, he created the first subsurface data base of the Boston area. The information is valuable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and private developers, who gain one-stop access to detailed information about soil conditions, water tables and rock formations under the Greater Boston area]. Geology of New England; Cape Cod groundwater quality. Author of articles including "Petrogenesis of Two Diverse Mid-Paleozoic Complexes of Eastern Massachusetts: A-type Cape Ann Granite and I-type Sharpners Pond Quartz Diorite"; "Assessment of Mafic Magnetism in the Avalon Terranes of Newfoundland and Southeastern New England," and "Mid-paleozoic Calc-alkaline Igneous Rocks of the Nashoba Block and Merrimack Trough, In Newburg." Courses include: "Environmental Geology"; "Chemistry of Natural Water Systems"; "Petrology."
617.552.3656
rudy.hon.1@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/geo/people/faculty/hon.html
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Alan Kafka
Associate Professor, Geology and Geophysics Department
College of Arts & Sciences
B.A. New York University
M.S. State University of New York at Stony Brook
Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook
Earthquakes; earthquakes in the Northeast; nuclear testing detection; science education; relationship between science and religion; science and public policy. A geophysicist and researcher at BC's Weston Observatory, he is the first scientist to link Massachusetts' Quabbin Reservoir to increased seismic activity in central Massachusetts. [He believes the stress created by the weight of billions of gallons of water is responsible for several significant earthquakes in the region since the reservoir was created in the 1930s.] Participant in a US government project aimed at detecting nuclear explosion tests in the former Soviet Union using seismic techniques. Author or co-author of articles including "Earthquake Activity in the Northeastern United States"; "Corrections to Rg Group Velocity Dispersion in Southwestern New England"; "Earthquake Activity in the Greater New York City Area: A Faultfinder's Guide"; "Shear Wave Velocity and Attenuation Structure of the Shallow Crust in Southeastern New England From Dispersion of Rg Waves," and "Rg as Depth Discriminant for Earthquakes and Explosions: a Case Study in New England." Courses have included: "Theoretical Seismology"; "Introduction to Geology and Geophysics"; "Geoscience and Public Policy"; "Geophysical Data Processing"; "Our Mobile Earth."
617.552.3650
alan.kafka.1@bc.edu
http://www2.bc.edu/%7Ekafka/me.html
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Zygmunt Plater
Professor, Law School
B.A. Princeton University; J.D Yale University; LL.M., S.J.D., University of Michigan.
Environmental law; legal aspects of environmental disasters; endangered species; land use issues, historic preservation, private property and public rights. One of the nation's leading environmental lawyers, Plater has handled national endangered species litigation -- including seven years spent litigating the case of the endangered snail darter fish vs. TVA's Tellico Dam up through the Supreme Court. He worked as chair of a legal task force for the State of Alaska responding to the Exxon-Valdez oil spill; was a consultant to plaintiffs in the Woburn toxic litigation, Anderson et al. v. W.R. Grace et al., which became the subject of the book and movie A Civil Action; has worked as a consultant on environmental and land use law initiatives in a number of foreign countries, and helped organize the first United Nations Conference on Individual Rights to be held in Africa. He is lead author of the national environmental law coursebook Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society (West). Courses have included: "Environmental Law and Current Politics."
617.552.4837
plater@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/fac-staff/deans-faculty/platerz.html
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James Skehan, SJ
Professor Emeritus, Geology and Geophysics Department
College of Arts & Sciences
B.A., M.A. Boston College; M.A., Ph.D. Harvard University
Regional geology and tectonics of New England; the margins of the North Atlantic; metamorphic coal basins; the applications of geology to environmental and engineering projects; structural geology, especially in coal and anthracite basins, and plate tectonic modeling in four specific geographic areas–the eastern seaboard of North America, the southern British Isles, western Europe and northwest Africa. Creationism, notably the relationship between modern science and the Book of Genesis (including Creationism vs. evolution); Ignatian spirituality. Author of the books Modern Science and the Book of Genesis and the recently-published Roadside Geology of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Former director of Boston College's Weston Observatory, an interdisciplinary research facility in the fields of geophysics, geology, energy and environmental sciences.
617.552.8312
skehan@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/geo/people/faculty/skehan.html
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