Karen McNally
Karen Cook McNally (1940 – December 20, 2014) was an American seismologist and earthquake risk expert.[1]
Personal life
[edit]McNally was born in Clovis, California on January 26, 1940. She married at a young age and had two daughters, Kim Cook and Meredith Hurley; the couple divorced in 1966.[2][unreliable source?] She also had two siblings, a brother, Jerry Einar Cook, and a sister, Jean Howard Brown.[1]
Professional life
[edit]
In 1971 she earned her bachelor's degree and in 1973 she received her master's degrees; and just three years later she obtained her PhD (1976) in geophysics from the University of California, Berkeley. McNally worked at the California Institute of Technology with Charles Francis Richter, creator of the Richter scale, and became part of the faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1981, as an Earth and planetary sciences professor. She was director of the Richter Seismological Laboratory there and their instruments were able to capture high-quality recordings of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. She founded the Institute of Tectonics and helped establish a seismology research program at the university.[1][2]
In 1984, McNally established a modern geophysical observatory (the Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI-UNA)) and a national seismographic network in Costa Rica,[1] and with this she was able to improve the country's program for reducing earthquake hazards. With funding from Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the U.S Agency for International Development McNally was able to lead a team of UCSC and Costa Rician scientists to set up the seismographic network. She was awarded the University Medal, more specifically named the Medalla Universidad Nacional by the National University of Costa Rica for her contributions on July 2, 2004.[3][2] Her work in Costa Rica also encouraged ongoing collaborations between the UCSC faculty and researchers in Costa Rica. Her work in predicting and helping prepare Costa Rica for the Loma Prieta earthquake also earned her a spotlight in Time Magazine.[4]
She was a member of the board of directors for the Seismological Society of America and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology and sat on the California Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council.[1] In 1982, she received the Richtmyer Memorial Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers.[5]
Death
[edit]She died at home in Davenport at the age of 74.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Karen McNally, noted seismologist and earthquake risk expert, dies at age 74". University California, Santa Cruz newsletter. January 9, 2015.
- ^ a b c Yount, Lisa (2007). A to Z of Women in Science and Math. pp. 200–01. ISBN 978-1438107950.
- ^ Stephens, Tim; Writer 459-2495, Staff. "UCSC seismologist Karen McNally receives University Medal from the National University of Costa Rica". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Angier, Natalie (1985-09-30). "Anatomy of an Earthquake". TIME. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- ^ "Awards Search Table". American Association of Physics Teachers.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- American seismologists
- 1940 births
- 2014 deaths
- American women geologists
- 20th-century American geologists
- University of California, Santa Cruz faculty
- People from Clovis, California
- 20th-century American women scientists
- Women geophysicists
- American geophysicists
- Fellows of the Seismological Society of America
- 21st-century American women
- Women in science and technology
- University of California, Berkeley alumni
- Earthquake and seismic risk mitigation