IRIS and SSA Seek Nominations for the 2010 IRIS/SSA Distinguished Lectureship

The IRIS Consortium and the Seismological Society of America are pleased to announce the eighth year of the jointly-sponsored IRIS/SSA Distinguished Lectureship, an annual national lecture series in seismology. The goal of the IRIS/SSA Distinguished Lectureship program is to increase the general public’s awareness of the relevance of and excitement for seismology through increased exposure.

The IRIS/SSA Distinguished Lectureship selection committee seeks nominations from the seismological community for two lecturers for 2010 by March 6, 2009. Self-nominations are encouraged. Nominations should be emailed (use subject line “Speaker Series Nomination”) to Patrick McQuillan at mcquillan@iris.edu.

Nominations must include a vision statement, including a specific description of how the proposed presentation will fulfill the outreach goals of the lectureship program. Past experience and perspective on successfully communicating seismological ideas to large public audiences are desirable. The selection committee will vet the nominations and forward recommendations to the IRIS and SSA Boards of Directors for final approval in spring of 2009.

Each of the two lectures will be given at least four times to general audiences at museums, universities or other public venues with target audiences of 200 or more. The general scope of the research presented must have clear and acknowledged tie-ins to SSA and IRIS. Lecturers must be resident in the US during 2010.

Presentation materials will be made available to IRIS and SSA for open distribution to members and other interested parties through the IRIS Education and Outreach and/or SSA websites and elsewhere. Lectures will be prepared and presented in PowerPoint or a similar electronic medium. IRIS and/or SSA may choose to videotape some lectures subject to venue constraints. IRIS will assist in final preparation to ensure appropriate attributions and format.

Venues will be arranged by IRIS and SSA. IRIS Education and Outreach and SSA will cover costs and assist with presentation, preparation, travel and other expenses. Lecturers will be honored by SSA and by IRIS with a plaque and an honorarium of $1000. The lectures will be promoted and reported through IRIS and SSA publications and the general media. When possible, IRIS and SSA outreach materials will accompany the lecturer engagements.

More information about the IRIS/SSA Distinguished Lectureship, including past speakers and their presentations, can be found at http://dev.iris.edu/services/lectures/iris_ssa.htm.