Research group

Jack Loveless, Professor of Geosciences
44 College Lane, Northampton, MA 01063 Sabin-Reed 113 (413) 585-2657 jloveles@smith.edu CV

 

shapeimage_1-2 After growing up in Northampton, Jack Loveless received a B.S. in geology from the University of New Hampshire in 2002 and a Ph.D. in structural geology from Cornell University in 2007, advised by Richard Allmendinger. Loveless was a postdoctoral fellow and research associate with Brendan Meade at Harvard University from 2007 until 2011, when he joined the Smith College faculty as an assistant professor. His research focuses on assessing earthquake-related processes using high-precision GPS data that records the motion of Earth’s surface in tectonically active regions. Additionally, Loveless compares contemporary deformation to that accumulated over longer time spans as expressed in the geomorphic and geologic records. Sites of past and current research include the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, southern California, Japan, the Tibetan Plateau and the Olympic Peninsula.

 
Current students
  • Kathleen Bacigalupi ’26: Shaping our local mountains (STRIDE, 2022–2024)
  • Kadiatou Diallo ’26: Shaping our local mountains (AEMES, 2022–2024)
  • Carly Saba ’26: Geodetic detection of volcanism in Japan (Special Studies, spring 2024)
  • Emma Geissinger Cutchins ’24: Data visualization in tectonics (Special Studies, spring 2024)
Past students
  • Sarah Thieler ’26: Shaping our local mountains (STRIDE, 2022–2023)
  • Kiera Murray ’25: A detailed representation of the global fault system (STRIDE 2022–2023; Special Studies, fall 2023)
  • Karenna Kung ’25: Detecting slow slip events in Japan (STRIDE, 2021–2023; SURF 2023)
  • George Pharris ’22: Constraining tectonic plate motion with earthquake records (Honors thesis 2021–2022; Special Studies, spring 2021)
  • Anna Pearson ’21: Causes of strike-slip faulting in Iceland (Honors thesis 2020–2021; STRIDE, 2017–2019; SURF 2019)
  • Clara Brill-Carlat ’21: Comparing geodetic and seismic constraints on relative plate motion (Special Studies, spring 2021)
  • Juliette Saux ’20: Spatial separation of slowly slipping and coupled regions of the Cascadia subduction zone (Honors thesis, 2019–2020; STRIDE, 2016–2018; SURF 2018, 2019; Special Studies, fall 2018; SURF 2019, 2020)
  • Lucy Hansen ’21: Spatial migration patterns of Cascadia slow slip events (Special Studies, spring 2019; spring 2020)
  • Ibuki Sugiura ’21: Spatiotemporal patterns of Japanese earthquakes (Special Studies, spring 2019)
  • Perryne Vega ’22: Patterns of seismicity in Japan (AEMES, 2018–2019)
  • Aurora Lopez ’20: Influence of deep subduction geometry on earthquake processes (AEMES, 2017–2018; Special Studies, fall 2018)
  • Léo Young ’20: Mapping historical seismicity at global subduction zones (AEMES, 2016–2017)
  • Sofia Johnson ’19: Relationship between the Cascadia subduction zone and crustal faults in Washington (STRIDE, 2015–2017; SURF, 2017)
  • Mylo Grote ’18: Temporal variation in crustal fault slip rates across Japan (Special Studies, spring 2018)
  • Naomi Jahan ’18: Elastic Block Modeling in the San Gorgonio Pass (Special studies, fall 2016)
  • Elias Molitors Bergman ’17: Distribution of slow slip events in space and time at the Cascadia subduction zone (Honors thesis, 2016–2017; SURF 2015, 2016; Special studies, spring 2016)
  • Molly Kover ’17: Schist de Sierra de Salinas Exhumation (Special studies, fall 2016–spring 2017)
  • Marlo Stein ’17: Mapping community preparedness and education along the Washington and Oregon coast in anticipation of the next major Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake (Special studies, fall 2016–spring 2017)
  • Sophie D’Arcy ’16: Investigating the longevity of earthquake segments along the coast of northern Chile (STRIDE, 2012–2014); Updating the inverse of a matrix: Applications to geophysical inverse theory (Special Studies, spring 2014)
  • Danielle Opatovsky ’16: Mapping economic development in the Springfield area (Special studies, spring 2016)
  • Louisa Hall ’15: Assessing changing patterns of interseismic deformation through time in Japan (Special studies, spring 2015)
  • Emerson Lynch ’15: Comparing short and long-term uplift in coastal Washington (Special studies, spring 2014–spring 2015)
  • Seulgi Son ’16: Investigating the longevity of earthquake segments along the coast of northern Chile (STRIDE, 2012–2014); Elastic block modeling of the San Gorgonio subsection of the San Andreas Fault, California (Special studies, fall 2015)
  • Paula Burgi ’14: Modeling Coseismic Slip of the 2012 Nicoya Peninsula Earthquake, Costa Rica: Roles of Megathrust Geometry and Surface Displacement (Honors thesis, 2013–2014); Styles of crustal deformation along the Chilean coastline (Special studies, fall 2012); Analyzing Systems of Earthquake-Related Landform Deformation along the Chilean Coastline (SURF, 2012)
  • Alexandria Julius ’14: Use of GPUs for Crustal Deformation Modeling (SURF, 2012)
  • Bismita Sahu ’14: Revisiting the Slip Distribution of the 1994 Northridge, California Earthquake (SURF, 2012)
  • Naomi Barshi ’12: Conflicting Kinematics of the Salerno Creek Deformation Zone, Grenville Province, Ontario (Honors thesis, 2011–2012)