Richard H. Sibson

Richard Hugh Sibson is a New Zealand structural geologist born in 1945 who is professor emeritus at the University of Otago and formerly worked at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1982 to 1990. His doctoral research proved that pseudotachylites, rocks found in the Outer Hebrides, form during earthquakes, and his later work on fault zone structure and mechanics, the role of fluids in earthquake generation, and hydrothermal ore deposit formation in fault zones brought a fundamental shift in understanding earthquakes and faulting. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2003 and received the Wollaston Medal in 2010.