Prof. Dr Patricia Martínez-Garzón, working group leader in GFZ Section 4.2 “Geomechanics and Scientific Drilling”, has been appointed to the “Academia Joven de España”. The Spanish Academy of Sciences is thus honoring her cutting-edge research on tectonic and induced seismology at the interface with global challenges such as the energy transition and the mitigation of natural and human-induced earthquake risk.
The “Academia Joven de España” is an associate member of the Instituto de España, which brings together ten Royal Scientific Academies in Spain. Its aim and mission is to raise the profile of young scientists and promote science as a career option for young people. The academy is also actively involved in scientific exchange between national and international institutions and supports the resolution of societal issues through scientific contributions.
About the person: research priorities and achievements
Prof. Patricia Martínez-Garzón has been a researcher at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences since 2011. Here, she heads Working Group 4.2.1 “Seismomechanics and Transient Deformation” in Section 4.2 “Geomechanics and Scientific Drilling.” Since March 2025, she has been a W2 professor in the field of “Applied Seismology” at RWTH Aachen University.
Her research ranges from the statistical classification of seismic events to the analysis of the development of fault zones and their relationship to earthquake hazard. During her postdoctoral studies, which were funded by a prestigious Helmholtz scholarship, she expanded her research to include active tectonic faults such as the San Andreas Fault (California) and the North Anatolian Fault (Türkiye), working closely with Prof. Yehuda Ben-Zion at the University of Southern California.
Since March 2023, Martínez-Garzón has been leading the ERC Starting Grant project QUAKEHUNTER, funded by the European Research Council, which investigates the processes leading up to major earthquakes. She is also co-director of the borehole-based GONAF observatory off Istanbul, which plans to establish a forecast-based early earthquake warning system.
She has published more than 65 articles in renowned international journals and made significant contributions to our understanding of precursory processes of earthquakes, including the detection of foreshocks in active fault zones. Her approach combines field observations with laboratory experiments and links fundamental research with applications relevant to earthquake safety and the social acceptance of sustainable energy technologies.
Patricia Martínez-Garzón has received numerous awards and is an active member of international scientific networks. She has been associate editor of Geophysical Research Letters since 2024.
(With material of the „Academia Joven de España“)
