The magnitude 9.2 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004 (UTC 00:58:53) was a momentous event, whether measured by scientific or human standards.  Sadly, what is currently regarded as the 3rd largest earthquake in recorded history led to the worst tsunami disaster in recorded history, with the loss of over 200,000 lives and ocean-wide devastation.  Enormous earthquakes and resulting tsunamis have been a sobering reminder to many in the community of earthquake scientists that the subject of our professional lives can have enormous impact on humanity.  In this talk, I will review the latest scientific research describing what we now know about the Sumatra earthquake and how this earthquake relates to past and future earthquakes in the western United States.

Biography - Prof. Susan Bilek is a geophysicist in the Earth and Environmental Science Department of New Mexico Tech with an interest in earthquake processes, focusing on determining the important factors which influence the nature of the seismicity - for details see http://www.ees.nmt.edu/bilek/.  Susan recently gave a version of this talk at the Museum of Natural History in New York.  Please contact Susan's LANL host and collaborator Dr. Charlotte Rowe, char@lanl.gov, if you would like to discuss research with Susan during her visit.