Associate Professor of GeophysicsGeophysical Institute and Department of Geology and Geophysics
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Associate Professor of Geophysicsjeff@giseis.alaska.edu
Phone 907-474-7286
Fax 907-474-5618
Office 307C Elvey
Please go to my NEW web page at http://fairweather.giseis.alaska.edu/jeff/
Active Research ProjectsPage last updated 2/18/02
The Freymueller boys, March 1999 
Married, two children (photo). I really like living in Fairbanks, even in the winter. Summer has never-ending daylight, winter has skiing, the World Ice Carving Championships, and, yes, "cold snaps" where the temperature can drop to below -50° F. For more information, see my personal page.
Amazing Ice Sculpture
I have been at the Geophysical Institute as an Associate Professor of Geophysics since May 1995. I received a Bachelor of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology in 1985, and MS and PhD degrees from the University of South Carolina in 1988 and 1991 respectively. Following my PhD, I worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Stanford University for three and a half years.
I am interested primarily in studying active crustal deformation in plate boundary zones. For the last few years, I have focused my efforts at understanding the earthquake cycle at subduction zones, and the behavior of active arc volcanoes before, during and after eruption. The main tool for my research is a satellite-based surveying system, the Global Positioning System (GPS). Using GPS it is possible to measure relative positions between GPS sites with a precision as good as a few millimeters. By repeating these surveys over a period of time, we can watch as plates move and the earth deforms.
Hilary Fletcher is studying the deformation of Alaska using GPS.
Doerte Mann is studying volcanic deformation using SAR and GPS.
Qizhi Chen is studying the kinematics of the Tibetan Plateau using GPS.
Chris Larsen is studying the uplift history of the Glacier Bay region using several techniques.
Sigrún Hreinsdóttir is studying the 2001 El Salvador earthquake sequence, and the subduction zone in southern Alaska.
EARTHWATCH Student Challenge Program 1997
Eight high school students arrived in Fairbanks on August 3, 1997 for two weeks of geophysical fieldwork on the Denali fault near Denali National Park. We all had a great time, and the students did a very good job.