Center for Neotechtonic Studies

A research center established by the NSHE Board of Regents and located within the College of Science and Mackay School of Earth Science and Engineering with the University of Nevada, Reno which provides graduate students and post-doctoral level researchers the opportunity to conduct research in neotectonics and closely related disciplines.

Neotectonics is the study of geologically recent motions of the Earth’s crust, particularly those produced by earthquakes, with the goals of understanding the physics of earthquake recurrence, the growth of mountains, and the seismic hazard embodied in these processes.

As the world’s population increases, the risk of severe earthquake damage continues to escalate at an alarming pace, as does the need to understand that risk. The center’s scientific observations and analyses are used continually to increase our understanding of earthquakes. This research, in turn, provides the basis for mapping seismic hazards in Nevada and elsewhere around the globe.