Aron MELTZNER

 

My research interests lie in active tectonics and in intricately related topics such as past sea level and glacial isostatic adjustment, which bear on questions of tectonic deformation at timescales from centuries to millennia. Broadly, my work involves applications of neotectonics, paleoseismology, and paleogeodesy to address fundamental questions of earthquake hazard, earthquake recurrence and repeatability, fault segmentation, fault interactions, and past sea-level change.

 

Many of my studies involve the use of coral microatolls to infer past changes in relative sea level, which we can use to infer past land-level change, glacial isostatic adjustment, and tectonic deformation. I have ongoing research using coral microatolls in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. I am also building a research program in Myanmar involving terrestrial paleoseismology to quantify deformation and assess hazard across the complex plate boundary there.

 

I am a geologist by training, but I collaborate extensively with the Geodesy Group at EOS, in order to apply geodetic modeling techniques to more rigorously interpret the geological data that we collect. I also collaborate extensively with the Coastal Lab and Sea Level Research groups. For more details, see my group webpage.

 

Aron at Mapur Island, Indonesia, 12 April 2012; photo by Imam Suprihanto

Education:
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Geology, California Institute of Technology, 2010
  • Master of Science (Geological Sciences), San Diego State University, 2006
  • Bachelor of Science with honor (Geology), California Institute of Technology, 2000
Professional Experience:

Assistant Professor (Dec 2017 to present)
Asian School of the Environment | Earth Observatory of Singapore | Nanyang Technological University

Senior Research Fellow (Jul 2013 to Dec 2017)
Research Fellow (Feb 2010 to Jun 2013)
Earth Observatory of Singapore | Nanyang Technological University

Professional Activities:
  • American Geophysical Union; Geological Society of America; Seismological Society of America; Asia Oceania Geosciences Society; Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
  • 2018 Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 15th Annual Meeting convener for the special session, “Bridging Observations from Geology and Geodesy to Understand Tectonic Deformation over Multiple Timescales”
  • 2018 Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 15th Annual Meeting co-convener for the special session, “Where History and Geology Intercept: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Extending our Chronology of Catastrophic Geologic Events”
  • 2014 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting co-convener for the special session, “Science and Societal Lessons from a Decade of Giant Megathrust Earthquakes”
  • External examiner for the PhD defense of Jennifer Weil Accardo, IPGP, France, June 2014
  • Participant, GeoPRISMS Subduction Cycles & Deformation (SCD) Implementation Workshop, Austin, TX, January 2011
  • 2010 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting co-convener for the special session, “Subduction-Zone Segmentation over Multiple Earthquake Cycles”
  • 2009 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting co-convener for the special session, “Paleogeodesy at Subduction Zones”
  • 2006 Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting co-convener for the special session, “The Giant Sumatran Earthquakes of 2004 and 2005”
  • Development of a website, educational exercises (undergraduate level), and a trail guide for the lay public for the offset of Wallace Creek along the San Andreas fault in the Carrizo Plain. The website URL is http://www.scec.org/wallacecreek/ and the brochure and class exercises are available in PDF format from the website
University Service:
  • Co-advised a post-doc at the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) at NTU, 2017-present
  • Co-advised 3 PhD students in the Asian School of the Environment (ASE) at NTU, 2012-present
  • Co-advised a post-undergraduate research assistant interning at EOS, 2015-present
  • Advised 2 undergraduates through NTU's CN Yang Scholars Undergraduate Research Experience program, 2016-present
  • Advised 3 undergraduates through NTU's Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) program, 2012-2015
  • Advised 7 undergraduates through Caltech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program, 2013-2014
  • Organized a geological field trip for CN Yang Scholars at NTU to eastern California, July 2016
Courses Taught:
  • Co-teach ES1003: Solid Earth
Honours and Awards:
  • 2015 Exceptional Reviewer for Geosphere
  • 2007 recipient of the Outstanding Student Paper Award, Seismology Section, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 2007, San Francisco, CA
  • 2006 recipient of the Outstanding Student Presentation Award, Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting, April 2006, San Francisco, CA
  • 2005 recipient of the Outstanding Student Presentation Award, Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting, April 2005, Incline Village, NV
  • 2003–2004 recipient of the Special Institute Fellowship in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech
  • National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship 2002 Honorable Mention awardeerecipient of various awards and scholarships in the Department of Geological Sciences at SDSU, 2001–2003
  • winner of the 2000 Deans’ Cup award (at Caltech), in recognition of efforts to improve the quality of undergraduate life at Caltech and to establish lines of communication with members of the faculty and administration; accompanied by a $200 prize
  • 1999–2000 recipient of the Ian Campbell Award in Geology (at Caltech), for outstanding performance in field geology courses during the 1999–2000 academic year; accompanied by the award of a Brunton Compass
  • 1998–1999 recipient of the Fritz Burns Prize in Geology (at Caltech), in recognition of one’s potential to make a significant contribution in the earth sciences through research; accompanied by a $2500 grant to support ongoing research

Publications: