Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Francis Waligora

Impact of Fault Zone Properties on Earthquake Dynamics

Fault zones accumulate damage over time due to both seismic and aseismic processes. This project seeks to deepen our understanding of how lithology influences off-fault damage by combining field observations with laboratory experiments. We will conduct compressive, tensile, and dynamic loading tests to gather data, which will be analyzed using MATLAB and Python. To test our hypotheses, we will also perform thin-section fragment analysis using machine learning algorithms. Together, these methods aim to shed light on how fault damage evolves and affects seismicity in response to varying lithologies.

Message To Sponsor

Thank you for supporting my growth as a well-rounded scientist. Your help has been invaluable in taking a major step toward achieving my dreams. I sincerely hope my research will contribute to a more earthquake-resistant California. I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity.