Last month, the Caltech Seismological Laboratory in Pasadena celebrated the 90th birthday of Hiroo Kanamori (center), professor emeritus, and former director of the lab. He was the most prolific and highly cited seismologist for a 30-year time span (1991-2021).
Kanamori’s work has helped shape modern seismology, from developing the moment magnitude scale with Tom Hanks (the scientist, not the actor) to advancing understanding of large earthquakes and seismic hazard mitigation. During his leadership, the Southern California Seismic Network continued to grow and strengthen.
“We’re grateful for his continuing work and lasting contributions to the field and to the Seismo Lab … Happy 90th birthday, Dr. Kanamori, aka Kanamori Sensei,” his colleagues said in a social media post.