The Jesuit Contribution to Seismology

Map showing locations of Jesuit seismographic stations.
Map showing locations of Jesuit seismographic stations.
  • Article
  • 4000 words
  • Level: university

This 1996 article by Agustin Udías of Universidad Complutense (Madrid, Spain) and William Stauder, Saint Louis University was published in Seismological Research Letters. Udías and Staude write:

The contribution to seismology of the Society of Jesus as an institution through its colleges and universities, and its members as individual scientists, forms an important chapter in the history of this science. This is especially so in the early years of its development…. No recent or comprehensive work, however, exists on the topic. Recently, moreover, many Jesuit seismographic stations have been closed and the number of Jesuits actually working in seismology has been greatly reduced. To a certain extent, apart from a very few academic departments and research institutes associated with Jesuit universities, it can be said that this is a chapter which is coming to a close. The interest of Jesuits has moved in other directions and it is not likely that seismology will become again an important aspect of the work of individual Jesuits as it was in the past. For this reason we feel that it will be of interest to present an overall picture of the extent of the Jesuit involvement in seismology.

Click here to access this article via the Seismological Society of America.

This article was also published as a chapter of the book International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology, Part 1. Click here for a preview, courtesy of Google Books.