Manuel Berberian is an Iranian-Armenian earth scientist. He was born on the 27th of October, 1945 into an immigrant Armenian family in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. He specializes in

earthquake seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

, active faulting and folding, active

tectonics Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...

, continental tectonics, historical

seismicity Seismicity is a measure encompassing earthquake occurrences, mechanisms, and magnitude at a given geographical location. As such, it summarizes a region's seismic activity. The term was coined by Beno Gutenberg and Charles Francis Richter in 19 ...

, archaeoseismicity, earthquake hazard minimization, geological mapping, and environmental science and engineering.

Biography

Berberian was born on October 27, 1945, into an immigrant Armenian family in

. The family had previously fled

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

. His mother is an Assyrian Christian from

Rezaiyeh Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an alt ...

, Iran. He attended primary school and high school in Iran, graduating in 1958 and 1964 respectively. He received a B.S. in geology with high honors from the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

in 1968. Since 1971 he has been engaged in scholarly research, He has taught at the

Tarbiat Modares University Tarbiat Modares University ( fa, دانشگاه تربیت مدرس: ''Dāneshgāh-e Tarbiyat Modares'', lit. "Professor Training University") is an exclusively graduate university with its main campus in Tehran, Iran. It was founded in 1982 a ...

, Tehran and

Ocean County College Ocean County College (OCC) is a public community college in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its main campus is in Toms River. Other locations include the Southern Education Center in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township and mul ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He joined the Geological Survey of Tehran in 1971, and established the Tectonics and Seismotectonics Research Department. He married his wide Rose in

Grenoble, France lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

in 1976. She holds a master's degree in mineralogy from the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

. They lived together in Tehran for two years before relocating to the United Kingdom Berberian received his Ph.D. in earthquake

seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

and active

from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, United Kingdom, in June 1981. His dissertation advisors were Geoffrey King and Dan McKenzie. He completed his dissertation called "Continental Deformation in the Iranian Plateau", becoming the first Armenian and second Iranian graduate of the Earth Science Department of the University of Cambridge. (His wife was the first Iranian woman to complete a Ph. D. at Cambridge). Since 1990, Barberian, his wife and son are living in the United States.

Honors

2013: The First Iranian and First Armenian Earth Scientist ever honored by the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

(GSA) during its 125th Anniversary Annual Conference Special Meeting Dedicated to his over 40-yr of research and contribution to the world Earth Science at Denver, Colorado, United States, in October 2013, Sessions 214 & 291, T188: Tethyan Evolution and Seismotectonics of Southwest Asia (GSA Structural Geology and Tectonics Division; GSA Quaternary Geology & Geomorphology Division; GSA Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology, & Volcanology Division). 2008: A new fossil species of Chondrichthyes (jawed fish) named in honor of Berberian in recognition of his contribution to the tectonic evolution of the Iranian Plateau.

References

External links

Manuel Berberian official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berberian, Manuel Armenian geologists Iranian geologists Iranian expatriates in the United Kingdom Iranian emigrants to the United States American people of Armenian descent Ethnic Armenian scientists Living people 1945 births Scientists from Tehran Iranian people of Armenian descent