Michael Brudzinski

Brudzinski

Professor

Ph.D. 2002 University of Illinois
219 Shideler Hall
513-529-9758
brudzimr@miamioh.edu 

I earned a Ph.D. in Geophysics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed an endowed fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before joining the Miami faculty in 2004.  My scientific research is focused on the origins of hazardous earthquakes.  I have maintained nearly a decade-long field experiment in southern Mexico to investigate how tectonic plates collide.  I am also helping to uncover relationships between enhanced oil and gas recovered and earthquakes in Ohio and surrounding regions through collaborations with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources

My educational focus is on developing active, engaging, e-learning courses, through assessment of inquiry-based training, student engagement, and authentic scientific experiences in virtual classrooms.  I have generated over $1.5 million in external funding at Miami to support the integration of research and teaching efforts, including a National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award.  I have mentored over 20 students and postdocs resulting in national presentations, publications, and over $400k of student/postdoc led funding.

Possible Thesis/Dissertation Topics

  • Computational Strategies for Detecting and Characterizing Earthquakes
  • Human Induced Seismiicity
  • Relationships Between Earthquakes, Slow Slip and Fault Tremor
  • Geochemical Behavior of Faults Influenced by Changing Fluid Pressure

Current/Recent Graduate Student Research

  • Sutton Chiorini (M.S. 2019) Improved Realties Detection of Induced Seismicity in Ohio.
  • Shannon Fasola (Ph.D. 2020) Investigating earthquake swarms for clues of the driving mechanism.
  • Derreck Gossett (M.S. in progress) Repeating patterns of earthquake magnitudes in natural and human-induced seismicity
  • Wilnelly Ventura-Valentin (M.S. 2021) Characterization of Swarm and Aftershock Behavior in Puerto Rico
  • Wilnelly Ventura-Valentin (Ph.D. in progress) Volcanology

Selected Publications

Ventura-Valentin, W., M. R. Brudzinski, Characterization of Swarm and Aftershock Behavior in
Puerto Rico, Seismology Research Letters, in press.

Velasco, A. A., K. Aderhold, R. Alfaro-Diaz, W. Brown, M.R. Brudzinski, M. Fraiser, M.M. Holt,
J. Mori, G. Noriega, K. Scharer, D. Templeton, F. Terra, and S. Williams-Stroud. SSA Task Force
on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Toward a Changing, Inclusive Future in Earthquake Science.
Seismological Research Letters, 92 (5): 3267–3275. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220210170, 2021.

Brudzinski, M. R., Hubenthal, M., Fasola, S., Schnorr, E., Learning in a crisis: Online skill
building workshop addresses immediate pandemic needs and offers possibilities for future trainings,
Seismological Research Letters, 92 (5): 3215–3230. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220200472, 2021.

Hennings P. H., J. P. Nicot, R. S. Gao, H. R. DeShon, J-E. Lund Snee, A. P. Morris, M. R.
Brudzinski, E. A. Horne, and C. Breton, Pore Pressure Threshold and Fault Slip Potential for
Induced Earthquakes in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area of North Central Texas, Geophysical Research
Letters, 48(15), e2021GL093564, 2021.

Skoumal, R. J., Kaven J. O., Barbour A. J., C. Wicks, M. R. Brudzinski, E. Cochran, J. Rubinstein,
The Induced Mw 5.0 March 2020 West Texas Seismic Sequence, Journal of Geophysical Research,
doi:10.1029/2020JB020693, 2020.

Melgar, D., A. Ruiz-Angulo, X. Pérez-Campos, B. W. Crowell, X. Xu, E. Cabral-Cano, M. R.
Brudzinski, L. Rodriguez-Abreu, Energetic Rupture and Tsunamigenesis during the 2020 Mw 7.4
La Crucecita, Mexico Earthquake, Seismology Research Letters, doi:10.1785/0220200272, 2020.

Schultz R., R. J. Skoumal, M. R. Brudzinski, D. Eaton, B. Baptie, W. Ellsworth, Hydraulic
Fracturing Induced Seismicity, Reviews of Geophysics, 58(3), e2019RG000695, 2020.

Ries R., Brudzinski M. R., Skoumal R. J., Currie B. S., Factors Influencing the Likelihood of
Hydraulic Fracturing Induced Seismicity in Oklahoma, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of
America, 110(5), 2272-2282, 2020.

Skoumal R. J., Barbour A. J., Brudzinski M. R., Langenkamp, T., Kaven J. O., Induced Seismicity
in the Delaware Basin, doi:10.1029/2019JB018558, Journal of Geophysical Research, 125, 2020.

Selected Grants

Collaborative Research: Online Training Using Tutorial-Based Active E-Learning to Broaden
Participation and Enhance Scientific Computing Skills within a Disciplinary Context, PI, NSF,
2021-2024, $262,507.

Collaborative Research: Investigating Time-Varying Relationships Between Interseismic Coupling, Slow Slip, and Seismicity Along the Mexican Megathrust and Sliver Fault, PI, NSF, 2020-2022,
$167,335.

Assessment of User’s Understanding of Real-Time Earthquake Information Products: Collaborative
Research with Miami University and Temple University, PI, USGS-NEHRP, 2020-2021, $37,394.

Understanding and Promoting Spatial Learning Processes in the Geosciences, Collaborator,
SBE-1640800, 9/1/2016-8/31/2020, $8,000.

Teaching Interests

  • Improving Public Outreach through More Effective Teachable Moments
  • Active Learning in Hybrid and Online Courses
  • Pathways to Energy and Environmental Careers
  • Fostering Quantitative Literacy and Spatial Reasoning

Specific Courses

GLG 121 - Environmental Geology - Emphasis on Natural Hazards

GLG 261 - Geohazards and the Solid Earth

GLG 461/561 - Geophysics (cross-listed with PHY 466/566)

GLG 457/567 - Seismology (cross-listed with PHY 467/567

GLG 662 - Subduction Zones

GLG 667 - Advanced Seismology

Service Interests

  • Undergraduate Research Experiences
  • Outcomes and Assessment
  • Mentoring Early Career Scientists
  • Seismicity Monitoring in the Central and Eastern US

More information about the Seismology program can be found here.

For complete descriptions of courses please see the 2022/2023 Miami Bulletin.