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Responsibilities: Dr. Applegate is the Associate Director for Natural Hazards. In this position, he oversees the geologic hazards and coastal and marine programs of the USGS and coordinates the long-term planning and hazard response activities for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, geomagnetic storms, floods, severe storms, tsunamis, and wildfires.

Career History and Highlights: Dr. Applegate came to the USGS in 2004 as the first senior science advisor for earthquake and geologic hazards. Since 2006, he has chaired the National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction, an interagency body providing guidance to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In addition to his USGS duties, Dr. Applegate is an adjunct full professor in the University of Utah's Department of Geology and Geophysics.

Dr. Applegate recently completed a 4-year term on the council of the Geological Society of America, received GSA's Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker Public Service Award in 2005, and became a fellow in 2006. In 2010, he received the USGS Shoemaker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Communication. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a past president of the Geological Society of Washington.

Prior to joining the USGS, Dr. Applegate spent 8 years with the American Geological Institute, where he served as the director of government affairs and as the editor of Geotimes. Dr. Applegate has also served with the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources as the American Geophysical Union's Congressional Science Fellow and as a professional staff member.

Education: Dr. Applegate has a B.S. in geology from Yale University and a Ph.D., also in geology, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.