University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

MEDIA RELEASE

CSUN’s Jerome Richfield Scholar Seeks Link
Between Old Faults and State’s Active Geology

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Oct. 30, 2007) — Elena Miranda, Cal State Northridge’s Jerome Richfield Memorial Scholar for 2007—08, specializes in structural geology, the study of rock deformation through time. An assistant professor in the Geological Sciences Department, Miranda investigates how the Earth’s continental and oceanic crust deforms in response to stresses.

The Richfield recognition, awarded annually by the university in memory of dean emeritus and philosophy professor Jerome Richfield, salutes an outstanding faculty member conducting research in the arts, sciences or humanities. The scholar receives a fellowship equivalent to three units of release time from teaching and presents a lecture as part of the Provost’s Colloquium Series.

Miranda will speak on "The Past as the Key to the Present: What Can Old Continental and Oceanic Faults Tell Us About Active Faults in California?" at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the Presentation Room of the Oviatt Library, which is located near the center of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge.

Her presentation will link her research from 3,000 meters below the surface of the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Madagascar, to her current work in Arizona.

"I’m going to show how these fault systems that I study in the continent and in the ocean might relate to active geology in California," she explained. "Are there any structures here in our home state that we can learn anything about by studying these far-flung places?"

Miranda, who also has conducted field work in Switzerland, Italy and Iceland, earned both of her degrees in geology; her doctorate at the University of Wyoming and her bachelor’s at Southern Methodist University.

Currently in her second year at CSUN, she is teaching courses this semester on microtectonics and field geology to future geoscientists.

"The world needs more geologists," she said, "as science becomes more global in perspective and the public becomes more aware of the geologic processes that shape…lives.

"Geology is, by nature, interdisciplinary," said Miranda. "We study rocks because they record the geologic evolution of the Earth, but we also try to understand how these processes are influenced by Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and biosphere. That sort of approach is important because the lessons we learn about Earth’s past are relevant for understanding Earth’s future."

It also is relevant for a world with a growing population, she said, noting that population growth puts more demands on our resources and requires more people to negotiate living with geologic hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides.

"Geologists are the scientists who help find new resources and help assess geologic risk," Miranda added.

California State University, Northridge has 35,200 full- and part-time students and offers 62 bachelor’s and 50 master’s degrees as well as 28 teaching credential programs. Founded in 1958, CSUN is among the largest single-campus universities in the nation and the only four-year public university in the San Fernando Valley. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.