Earth Sciences Division Staff: Lawrence J. Hutchings

Biographical Summary

Lawrence Hutchings is a seismologist  who serves as a Staff Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).  Before coming to LBNL in 2007, he was a research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory since 1989.  He previously worked for 10 years in industry evaluating earthquake hazards for nuclear reactor and conventional power facilities. Since 1989 his primary research has been in methods to develop design ground motions for hazard studies and in geothermal reservoir modelling. He also has several patents in human navigation and owned a start-up company between 1997 and 2005.  He has taken a personal interest in mentoring students and has been a mentor for more than 50 interns.  He has also worked extensively with students in developing countries and has advised 10 PhD's and Master's students on his research topics.

Education

• Postdoctoral researcher. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (1987-1989)
• Ph.D Geological Sciences (Seismology). State University of New York, Binghamton (1987)
• M.A. Geophysics. University of California, Berkeley 1973
• B.A. Physics. University of California, Berkeley 1971

Professional Experience

• 9/07 - present:  Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• 9/91 - 9/07: Research Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• 7/05 - 9/07: Co-Director, Hazards Mitigation Center,  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• 8/97 - 7/05: Chief Scientist, Acceleron Technologies, San Francisco, CA
• 7/05 - 7/07: Project Manager, Mines Safety Applications, Pittsburgh, PA
• 4/89 - 9/91: Staff Scientist at Bechtel Inc., San Francisco, Ca
• 8/73 - 8/82: Staff Scientist at Woodward-Clyde Consultants, San Francisco, CA

Professional Organizations and Affiliations

• American Geophysical Union
• Seismological Society of America
• Associate Editor Seismology: Bollettino Di Geofisica Teorica ed Applicata
• Reviewer: Yucca Mt. Ground Motion: Bechtel/SAIC, 2002, 2006

Computer Programs

Hutchings, Lawrence et al. (2007) Software for Physically Based Seismic Hazard Analysis: EMPSYN, HAZARD, NetMoment, HazStats, COMPARE. Programs are available by download: http://www.gyte.edu.tr/earthquake/ . SimulQ, inversion for Q structure: Zucca and Hutchings (1994); Regloc, multiphase regional earthquake locations: Hutchings (1994).

Patents

• System and Method for Measuring Movement of Objects; #5724265, 1996, USA.
• Continuation; System and Method for Measuring Movement of Objects; #5899963, 1997, USA.
• Continuation; System and Method for Measuring Movement of Objects; #603452, 1998, USA.
• System and Method for Determining Absolute Rotations in Threedimensions; #6122960, 1999, USA.
• System for Locating Personnel with Ultrasound; pending, 2010, USA.