Greg Hirth

Greg Hirth, a professor and chair of the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Brown University, is a pioneer in tectonophysics, a branch of geophysics that examines the movement of the Earth's crustal plates, the formation of mountains, earthquakes and other geological phenomena associated with the Earth's tectonic activity. His research focuses on rock deformation, microstructures in natural rocks, structural geology and modeling. Hirth has led research teams that have helped explain what triggers earthquakes that occur deep beneath the Earth’s surface and integrative analyses of processes that control the formation and deformation of lithopheric plates.

Hirth earned his bachelor’s degree in geological sciences from Indiana University followed by master's and doctoral degrees in geological sciences from Brown.