Clarence Roderic Allen (February 15, 1925 – January 21, 2021) was an American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

who studied

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 ...

Career

He was a graduate of

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

(B.A., 1949) and the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

(M.S., 1951; Ph.D., 1954). Allen was President of the

Seismological Society of America The Seismological Society of America (SSA) is an international scientific society devoted to the advancement of seismology and the understanding of earthquakes for the benefit of society. Founded in 1906, the society has members throughout the wor ...

in 1975 and 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 ...

. He was a member of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's act ...

, and the

. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1975. Allen was a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

since 1976. Allen received the first

G.K. Gilbert Award The G. K. Gilbert Award is presented annually by the Planetary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America for outstanding contributions to the solution of fundamental problems in planetary geology in the broadest sense, which includes ge ...

in Seismic Geology and in 1995 he received the Medal of the Seismological Society of America. He was a member of the faculty of the

since 1955. He became a Professor Emeritus there in 1990. Allan died on January 21, 2021, at the age of 95.Clarence Allen, 1925–2021
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Publications

* ''"Geology of Earthquakes"'' with

Robert S. Yeats The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and Kerry E. Sieh. Oxford University Press (1997) * ''"Comparative study of the neotectonics of the Xianshuihe fault, China"'' (1987) * ''"Continuation of creep and strain studies in southern California"'' (1984) * ''"Creep and strain studies in southern California: Final technical report"'' (1986) * ''"Seismicity of the Southern California Region, 1 January 1932 to 31 December 1972"'' with John M. Nordquist and James A. Hileman (1973) * ''"Active faulting in northern Turkey"'' (1969) * ''"Agua Blanca fault: A major transverse structure of northern Baja California, Mexico"'' (1960)

References

External links

Connections – The EERI Oral History Series: Clarence R. Allen
–

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) is a leading technical society in dissemination of earthquake risk and earthquake engineering research both in the U.S. and globally. EERI members include researchers, geologists, geotechnical e ...

1925 births 2021 deaths American seismologists California Institute of Technology alumni California Institute of Technology faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Palo Alto, California Reed College alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Fellows of the Seismological Society of America Presidents of the Geological Society of America {{US-geologist-stub

Career

Publications

References

Further reading

External links