UCR: Seismologist Cochran honored in Washington
Elizabeth Cochran (center) accepts the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers on Friday in Washington, alongside the president's science and technology adviser, Dr. John P. Holdren, and Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy, assistant director for education and human resources at the National Science Foundation.
Paul E. Alers, NASA
WASHINGTON â" Seismologist Elizabeth Cochran, whose groundbreaking network of earthquake sensors is now monitoring temblors in 62 countries, got a presidential honor in the nationâs capital Friday.
Cochran, 32, was given the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers during a private ceremony at the Smithsonian Institute. The award, handed down to 94 people from around the country, is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their careers.
She was nominated by the National Science Foundation for her development of a fast-growing system of earthquake sensors attached to the personal computers of thousands of citizen volunteers across the globe.
An adjunct assistant professor at UC Riverside who left the school for a position at the U.S. Geological Survey, Cochran said she was proud âand a little stunnedâ to receive the lofty honor, according to a USGS news release.
Cochranâs Quake-Catcher Network is made up of computers installed with software and special sensors to record earthquakes and aftershocks. The sensors are installed on the desktop or laptop computers of volunteers. The computers linked together using distributed computing techniques that allow scientists to monitor earthquakes wherever they happen, according to the USGS.
âThe Quake-Catcher Network is a way to involve the public in scientific data collection in high-risk earthquake and aftershock zones in the United States and around the world and to collect seismic data in nontraditional ways,â Cochran said.
So far, the network has grown to include more than 5,000 participants in 62 counties and has been used to monitor earthquakes and aftershocks from the Bay Area to Chile.