Project Grant 2612741
- The National Science Foundation Division of Earth Sciences awarded the University of Texas at Austin $320,400 on August 1, 2026, under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to investigate why earthquake foreshocks are rare in nature. The research uses meter-scale fault experiments with arrays of strain gauges and fault slip sensors to detect and measure nucleation zone expansion and couple its evolution to spatiotemporal changes in foreshocks. The project will quantify the coupling between...
- The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded the University of Texas at Austin $454,855 on January 1, 2027 under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to conduct integrated experimental and modeling research on subduction zone earthquake controls. The project will develop a system to distinguish whether shallow subduction faults build energy for infrequent large earthquakes and tsunamis or release stress through small events by measuring the rates of fault healing...
- The National Science Foundation awarded a $167,851 project grant to the University of Texas at Austin under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) for research titled "Collaborative Research: The Role of Subducting Seamounts in Fault Stability and Slip Behavior Throughout the Seismic Cycle." The two-year award beginning September 1, 2021 will support basic research into understanding the integrated Earth system through studying the influence of underwater volcanoes on fault behavior and...
- The University of Texas at Austin received a two-year, $292,433 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation Division of Earth Sciences. The grant funds basic research examining the impact of upper-plate splay faults on stress state and strength of the megathrust and fluid budgets in accreting sediments. This research directly supports the goals of the NSF's Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to strengthen understanding of the integrated Earth system through support of basic...
- This $175,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) supports research to develop an AI model for understanding fault dynamics and earthquake hazards in complex fault networks. The project, led by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), aims to build a multiphysics fault network model to discover reduced-order governing equations for the evolution of stress in fault systems. This work will enable improved assessment of regional...
- The National Science Foundation Division of Earth Sciences awarded the University of Texas at Austin $612,882 on August 1, 2026, under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to investigate whether Himalayan lineaments are active strike-slip faults that influence crustal deformation and earthquake rupture patterns in Nepal. The project combines remote sensing, field mapping, structural geology, petrology, and geochronology to evaluate the origin, geometry, and activity of four lineaments—the...
- This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) provides $352,839 to the University of Texas at El Paso from April 2021 through September 2023. The funding supports analysis of a high-quality aftershock data set from the 2017 Tehuantepec (M8.2) offshore Mexico earthquake. As part of basic research into integrated earth systems, the University will leverage the unique data to gain insights into seismic processes within subduction zones. Results from the...
- The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded the University of Memphis $272,211 on August 1, 2026, under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to conduct collaborative research on earthquake foreshocks through meter-scale fault experiments. The research addresses why foreshocks—small earthquakes preceding larger seismic events—occur routinely in laboratory settings but remain rare in nature, a gap that limits their utility for earthquake forecasting. The project...
- The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded the University of Texas at Austin $450,000 on September 1, 2026, under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to develop computational tools for understanding coastal groundwater and ocean exchange using machine learning. The project will create a next-generation computational framework that combines neural operators with an open-source coupling framework to build hybrid physics-aware surrogate models emulating...
- This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) provides $650,000 over a 3-year period to the University of Southern California to develop an AI model that can better understand fault dynamics and earthquake hazards in heavily faulted geologic basins. The project builds a multiphysics fault network model to discover reduced-order governing equations for the evolution of stress in complex fault systems, using the Southern Permian Basin in the...
The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded the University of Texas at Austin $425,000 on August 1, 2026, under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to develop a probabilistic fault system model based on a cross-validated, second-order damage evolution framework for large continental fault systems. The project develops a new modeling approach to capture uncertainty in fault network behavior, treating faults not merely as fixed geometric features but as systems that vary spatially and evolve over time in response to seismic cycles. The work addresses a critical gap in seismic hazard assessment: major earthquakes frequently occur on unmapped faults or link fault segments in unanticipated ways, and current models inadequately represent fault network complexity and dynamics. The four-part research agenda supplements earthquake catalogs with new small-event focal mechanisms and rupture complexity metrics, analyzes statistical relationships among seismic, geodetic, tectonic, and laboratory constraints on fault zone roughness and network structure, identifies and fits physically consistent network evolution laws, and applies these findings to improve earthquake hazard estimation. The project serves public safety, building standards, and the insurance and risk industries through improved earthquake hazard estimates, and includes graduate student training support. Performance occurs in Austin, Texas, with a period of performance from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2029.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $425.0k | 7/28/26 |