Daniel Trugman – A Seismologist at the University of Nevada, Reno

Daniel Trugman grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico – where over half the residents work at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). He earned a B.S. at Stanford University before going on to receive both an M.S and Ph.D from UC San Diego.

His research is focused on applying concepts from big data analytics and scientific machine learning with high-fidelity physical modeling to advance earthquake science. As an assistant professor with Nevada SeismoLab.

Early Life and Education

Growing up in Los Alamos, New Mexico where over half the population works at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Trugman was exposed to scientists at an early age. While he assumed he’d follow in their footsteps by becoming a physicist himself like his parents did, Trugman took an unexpected path by becoming an observational seismologist specializing in earthquake research – earning both his B.S. from Stanford University’s Department of Geophysics as well as M.S. and Ph.D degrees from UC San Diego respectively. He joined UC San Diego’s Jackson School of Geosciences Department as an assistant professor before moving on to join University Nevada Reno as an assistant professor; GrowClust is his software package designed specifically to optimize earthquake hypocenter locations relative to one another for faster analysis.

Professional Career

Daniel Trugman is a geophysicist with extensive expertise in earthquake source and nucleation processes as well as early earthquake warning methods. Additionally, he has studied induced earthquakes in relation to seismic hazards. His current research at the University of Nevada, Reno is focused on devising and applying novel techniques to analyze large seismic datasets using concepts from big data analytics, scientific machine learning and high-fidelity physical modeling. Erichsen has also been active in outreach activities, visiting high schools to inspire young people to pursue science careers and presenting at historically Black Colleges and Universities. For his efforts he received several accolades, such as the Charles F. Richter Early Career Award from the Seismological Society of America.

Achievement and Honors

Trugman is widely respected in earthquake prediction and seismological research circles for his expertise. As lead developer of GrowClust – an open source software package which optimizes relative hypocenter locations – and postdoc mentor at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s employee scholarship fund, he frequently visits high schools encouraging students to pursue college degrees.

Trugman has served as an assistant professor of seismology at the Nevada Seismological Laboratory since 2022 at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has earned several accolades, such as the Charles F. Richter Early Career Award from the Seismological Society of America. Trugman has become widely recognized for utilizing concepts from big data and scientific machine learning alongside high-fidelity physical modeling to advance earthquake science, leading him to make significant contributions across several aspects of observational seismology.

Personal Life

Trugman was raised in Los Alamos, New Mexico where many residents work at Los Alamos National Laboratory – a U.S. Department of Energy research facility. After graduating Los Alamos High School he studied geophysics at Stanford University and Earth science at UC San Diego; before returning to LANL as the Richard P. Feynman postdoctoral fellow until 2020 when he joined Jackson School of Geosciences at University of Texas Austin as assistant professor specializing in observational seismology; answering questions such as earthquake start and why their characteristics vary between instances of study.