Staff

Function and Responsibilities:

Head of the working group 4.2.1 "Seismomechanics and Slip Transients" at GFZ

Prof. of Applied Seismology at RWTH Aachen University (from March 2025)

PI of W2 Helmholtz First-time professorial appointment for excellent female scientists (from March 2025)

co-PI of GFZ Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) Türkiye

Sub-topic Speaker within PoF-IV program, Topic 3.2 "Investigation of temporal changes and the late stage before major events"

Research Interests:

•    Physics of earthquakes: how do they initiate, propagate and stop
•    Combining seismology and fault mechanics to illuminate deformation patterns on transform faults
•    The interplay between seismic and aseismic slip and how does it affect seismic hazard
•    Characterization of the stress field: principal stress orientations, magnitudes, stress heterogeneity
•    Fluid-induced seismicity (geothermal, CO2 storage) 
•    Learning from the physics of rock deformation experiments to better understand earthquakes in nature   

    Curious ? More about our research on www.saidan.org 

Career:

Education:

09-2010: 
Physics Degree (five years degree)
Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Spain

Projects:

• QUAKEHUNTER: Understanding earthquake nucleation on natural faults
• SEISMENET: Seismo-geodetic network and deformation studies on the creeping segment of the North Anatolian Fault
• SAIDAN: Seismic and Aseismic Deformation in the brittle crust: from Anthropogenic to natural hazard
• Helmholtz Postdoc Programme: "Earthquake Hazard due to reservoir stimulation: A geomechanical study linking hazard and induced seismicity".
• Induced seismicity at The Geysers geothermal field: Analysis of spatiotemporal variations in the seismicity and stress field related to fluid injection and extraction.
• Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative (HAI): Analysis of induced seismicity related to CO₂ storage and laboratory experiments on CO₂ saturated samples.
• Geophysical Observatory North Anatolian Fault (GONAF): Participation in management, data analysis and field drilling work. 

Research Boards and Committees:

Since 01-2024:

Associate Editor of Geophysical Research Letters

01-2021 - 12-2023:

Associate Editor of Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth

Awards:

05-2014: Best Student Presentation Award at the Annual Meeting of the Seismological Society of America (SSA), Anchorage, Alaska

12-2014 : Friedrich-Robert-Helmert-Award for the best doctoral dissertation of the year  – awarded by the Association of Friends and Supporters of the GFZ e.V.