McNally, Karen Cook (1940–)
McNally, Karen Cook (1940–)
American geologist. Born 1940; grew up in Clovis, CA; attended Fresno State College; University of California, Berkeley, BS, 1971, MA, 1973, PhD in geophysics, 1976; m. (div. 1966); children: 2.
Known for her contributions to seismic gap theory, a method used to predict earthquakes, was postdoctoral researcher, then associate professor at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena until 1986; worked with research teams that used seismic gap theory to predict Mexico's 7.8 quake (Nov 29, 1977) and Mexico City's 8.1 quake (Sept 19, 1985); established the country's national seismological network (1984); appointed professor of geophysics (1998) and director of Institute of Tectonics and Charles F. Richter Seismology Laboratory at University of California, Santa Cruz.