Seismologist and Earthquake Hazard Expert Bruce Bolt Dies at 75 8/2/2005
Bruce A. Bolt, California Seismic Safety Commissioner, respected UC Berkeley professor, author and international seismic consultant, died Thursday, July 21, of pancreatic cancer at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland. The Australian native and naturalized U.S. citizen was 75.
As director of the University of California Seismographic Stations for 28 years, Bolt traveled the world to investigate the sites of major earthquakes, lectured on earthquakes and earthquake hazards and served on numerous local, state and national panels and commissions, according to a UC Berkeley press release. Bolts public service legacy included 15 years on the California Seismic Safety Commission where he was chairman in 1986. He was also a member of the National Academy of Engineering. "He really was the founder of the modern field of engineering seismology, which is the interface between earth science and the fields of geotechnical and structural engineering," says Gregory Fenves, UC Berkeley professor and chair of civil and environmental engineering.