Professor Dr. Andreas Fichtner

Biography

Professor Fichtner specializes in Seismology and Wave Physics at ETH Zurich. He received his PhD from the University of Munich in January 2010, focusing on Full Seismic Waveform Inversion for Structural and Source Parameters. Following his doctoral studies, he undertook postdoctoral research at Utrecht University, where he developed multi-scale methods for seismic waveform inversion. His research interests include seismic tomography and fibre-optic sensing technologies, which are applied to image the deep interior of the Earth. He leads a team that employs novel techniques in numerical wave propagation and specializes in non-linear optimization techniques, essential for understanding large-scale inverse problems. He has worked on deploying fibre-optic cables across extensive lengths in urban areas, volcanoes, and glaciers, turning them into seismic sensors that yield unprecedented insights into Earth's structure and seismicity. His work has received numerous accolades, including the Keiiti Aki Award from the American Geophysical Union in 2011, the Early Career Scientist Award from the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in 2015, and the Hoffmann Prize from the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in 2018. Additionally, he is a co-founder and scientific adviser for Mondaic, a start-up that provides solutions for full-waveform modeling and inversion in both academia and industry. In 2024, he will serve on the Board of Directors for the Seismological Society of America.

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