Caltech Seismological Laboratory [Earthquakes, Research, Academics]

A Brief History of the Seismo Lab

Frank Press, Beno Gutenberg,
Hugo Benioff and Charles Richter, 1956
© California Institute of Technology

Seismo Lab Directors | Seismo Lab Alumni

Caltech’s Seismological Laboratory— informally known as the Seismo Lab—has a long and distinguished history, reflecting both its contributions to science and its service to the public. The Seismo Lab is one of the world's most renowned centers for geophysical research.

The Seismo Lab was established by Harry Wood in 1921 under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. In the early 1920s, Wood and John Anderson developed the Wood-Anderson torsion seismometer that became the standard for local earthquake recording. Hundreds of these instruments are still in regular use today.

In 1926, the Laboratory began cooperative operations with the new geology division of Caltech and embarked on a project to install a network of seismographs around Southern California. By 1932, six instruments were in place and the routine publication of a station bulletin had begun.

Harry O. Wood (1879-1958)
Director, Seismological Laboratory, 1921-1946

John August Anderson (1876-1959)
Executive Officer, Caltech Observatory Council, 1928-1948; Staff, Mount Wilson Observatory, 1916-1956

Wood-Anderson torsion seismograph

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Charles Richter, originally trained as a theoretical geophysicist, joined the staff of the Seismo Lab in 1927. Beno Gutenberg, a renowned German geophysicist, joined the geology division of Caltech in 1930, and became the Lab's first director.

Richter and Gutenberg’s collaboration led to several important studies, of which the most well-known is the magnitude scale. The Richter Scale was initially used by Richter and later expanded by Gutenberg.

In the early 1930s, two Caltech scientists—physicist Charles Richter and mathematician Beno Gutenberg—played a pivotal role in developing seismology into an international science of earthquake study and detection.

Beno Gutenberg (1889-1960), photo ca. 1959
Caltech Professor of Geophysics, 1930-1959; Director, Seismology Laboratory,
1946-1957

Charles F. Richter (1900-1985), photo ca. 1952.
Caltech Professor of Seismology, 1937-1970; Caltech alumnus (PhD, 1928)

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Responsibility for the Seismo Lab, its programs, and most of its personnel was transferred to Caltech in 1937. Gutenberg and his colleagues—Hugo Benioff, John Buwalda, Richter, and others—led the Seismological Laboratory to worldwide prominence in the study of local earthquakes and, equally important, in the use of teleseismic recordings to study the Earth’s deep interior.

Hugo Benioff, 1964

Hugo Benioff's vertical component seismometer

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John Buwalda came to Caltech in 1926 to organize the Division of Geological Sciences. He assembled the staff, worked out the instruction and research programs in geology, paleontology, and geophysics, and supervised the design and construction of the Charles Arms and Seeley W. Mudd laboratories on campus. In addition to teaching, he had a distinguished career as a consulting geologist.

Frank Press, who later was to become the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in Washington as well as president of the National Academy of Sciences, became the Seismo Lab’s director in 1957. Press was largely responsible for developing innovative quantitative approaches to seismology and in making the laboratory heavily computer-based.

In 1974, during the directorship of Don Anderson, the Seismo Lab moved from its original location at Kresge to its current location on campus in South Mudd. By this time, the lab’s seismic network included 30 stations. At the same time, the Seismo Lab and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) began a cooperative program that developed into the Southern California Seismic Network (SCSN).

Frank Press
Caltech Professor of Geophysics, 1955-1965;
Director, Seismological Laboratory, 1957-1965.

Don Lynn Anderson
Eleanor and John R. McMillan Professor of Geophysics,
Emeritus , 1963-2002;
Director, Seismological Laboratory, 1967-1989

The Seismological Laboratory at Caltech has a long tradition in earthquake science and is actively involved in the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN)—one of the most advanced seismographic networks in the world. The Lab today continues to build on its tradition of geophysical study, and is a modern geophysical observatory that emphasizes the acquisition, analysis, and modeling of data pertaining to the structure and dynamics of the earth and other planetary bodies. This data originates from many sources, including regional and global seismic networks, inhouse analytic facilities (e.g., the Lindhurst Laboratory of Experimental Geophysics ), oceanic research cruises, remote sensing (e.g., GPS, interferometric radar, Landsat etc.), and geologic field mapping. Current Seismo Lab research incorporates all aspects of geophysics including, but not limited to, the structure, chemistry, and convective flow of the earth's interior, the physics of earthquakes, oceanic and continental tectonics, and lithospheric deformation.

For questions or comments about this web site, please email seismo.web@gps.caltech.edu.