THE TSUNAMI SOCIETY AWARD

IN RECOGNITION OF OUTSTANDING AND ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SCIENCE OF TSUNAMI HAZARDS

AWARDED MAY 2006

Dr. Zygmunt Kowalik
Dr. Zygmunt Kowalik has been the world leader in numerical modeling of tsunami waves for three decades. His books, papers and codes are used around the world. He has been a leader in the development of the WCATWC tsunami hazard prediction methodology. His techniques are the ones being used to make predictions of the Gulf and Atlantic Coast Tsunami threats.

Dr. Eddie Bernard
Dr. Eddie Bernard was the first scientist to numerically model a Tsunami wave interacting with the Hawaiian island chain. He was the director of PTWC in 1977-1980 where he initiated a major upgrade of the tsunami warning system. He has been director of PMEL since 1982 where he has supported tsunami research and was the leader of the development of the DART tsunami gauge which have been so successful that they are scheduled to be installed in all the oceans of the world.

Mrs. Karen O'Loughlin
Mrs. Karen O'Loughlin compiled the tsunami data book on the Caribbean tsunamis and the tsunami data bases for the four Oceans along with Jim Lander, who received the Tsunami award in 1999. The data bases are essential to the science of tsunami hazards.

Dr. Barbara Keating
Dr. Barbara Keating has been a world leader in the study of gas hydrates as a possible trigger for underwater landslides and tsunamis. She went to the Maldives after the Indian ocean Tsunami and performed a survey of the tsunami damage. For the first time a tsunami survey included a survey of the human terror and personal loss and displacement of the victims rather than just the wave heights and inundation limits.

AWARDED MAY 2002

Mr. Thomas J. Sokolowski
Mr. Thomas J. Sokolowski has contributed to the tsunami warning science at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center where he has been the director for many years. He is a leader in the development and evaluation of techniques for real-time prediction of tsunami amplitudes outside the tsunami generating area and in the computed aided tsunami hazard evaluation.

Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis
Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis was a co-founder and officer (Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer) of the Tsunami Society. He served as the Tsunami Advisor for the State of Hawaii Civil Defense for over 20 years. While he was the Director of the International Tsunami Information Center he achieved outstanding success in promoting international cooperation in tsunami warning and disaster mitigation. Recently he has built an award winning Tsunami web site and published a book describing the tsunami threat to California entitled "The Big One - The next Great California Earthquake."

AWARDED MAY 1999

Dr. Doak C. Cox
Dr. Doak C. Cox created Hawaii's first tsunami evacuation map and dedicated himself to collecting historical data on the effects of Hawaii tsunamis. His work provides the data base for evaluating tsunami hazards and testing tsunami models.

Mr. George D. Curtis
Mr. George D. Curtis is the Tsunami Advisor to the Island of Hawaii Civil Defense Agency and spent a decade developing the present Hawaii tsunami evacuation maps.

Dr. Augustine Furumoto
Dr. Augustine Furumoto was the Hawaii State Tsunami Advisor for many years. He developed a method for evaluating the tsunami risk to Hawaii based on an earthquake's source.

Dr. Daniel A. Walker
Dr. Daniel A. Walker is the Oahu Civil Defense Tsunami Advisor. He has spent his own money to develop tsunami hazard literature and has taught thousands of children how to save their lives in the event of a tsunami. He also developed and placed tsunami inundation measurement devices across the state at his own expense.

Mr. James F. Lander
Mr. James F. Lander is retired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration where he continues to collect and publish tsunami data and to alert areas of the world, such as the Caribbean, to the tsunami hazards they face.

Last updated: May 25, 2006
www.sthjournal.org