AGU 100

About AGU-100

Centennial Celebration

With AGU turning 100 and being amid 50 years of Plate Tectonics, the Tectonophysics section has a lot to celebrate! Below are interviews, meeting highlights, information about the history of our section, and educational resources that have been put together for this momentous celebration.

  • We present interviews from scientists that played a key role in the plate tectonic paradigm shift, so that we may gain insight into their view of the crystallization of plate tectonic theory.
  • We are gathering media collected during the fall meetings in a Meeting Highlights page.
  • Everyone is probably interested in the history of the Tectonophysics Section, so head to the Section History page.
  • Finally, in support of our future as a section, we present some materials on the Educational Resources page.

Interviews

As part of the AGU Centennial celebration, we are reflecting on the past 100 years and what has changed in our field. Plate tectonic theory has clearly revolutionized how we understand and frame Earth processes. As a part of this effort, we are conducting a series of video interviews with scientists that played a role in the development Plate Tectonic Theory to capture this pivotal time in the history of Earth Science.

These interviews will be conducted and shared over the course of the year, and thus the list below will grow as we continue into 2019.

View Interview Page

Meeting Highlights

Interested in what centennial activities the Tectonophysics section is up to? Here you can check out some of the highlights from recent meetings here.

Section History

AGU formed in 1919 with seven original sections: Geodesy, Seismology, Meteorology, Terrestrial magnetism and electricity, Oceanography, Volcanology, and Geophysical chemistry. In April 1940 the Tectonophysics section was formed to, using the words from Norman Bowen, “designate this new borderline field between geophysics, physics and geology … for the solution of problems of tectonics.”

Visit the Tectonophysics Section History Page to learn more!

Educational Resources

If you would like to watch some fun educational videos and learn more about Tectonophysics, be sure to visit the Educational Resources page.

There are some links to some additional groups’ celebrations of the history of plate tectonics, so check those out too!

Centennial and Communications Committee

We would like to thank the Centennial and Communications Committee for putting together the materials for this Centennial Celebration part of the Tectonophysics Section website. Below are the members of this committee.

All committees and committee members are listed here.

Margarete Jadamec (2018-2019, Committee Chair), University at Buffalo, SUNY

  • Jay Patton (2018-2019), earthjay.com
  • Mark Behn (2018-2019), Boston College
  • Bob Stern (2018-2019), UT Dallas
  • Jessica Bean (2018-2019), UC Berkeley
  • Kirstie Haynie (2018-2019, Student Representative) University at Buffalo, SUNY