Dr. Noel M Jackson
- Assistant Professor
Contact Info
1420 Naismith Dr
Lawrence, KS 66045
Personal Links
Biography —
I was born and raised in Bethesda, MD. I earned a B.S. in Physics at Carnegie Mellon University (2007) and a Ph.D. in Geophysics at Stanford University (2013) before going on to teach and perform research at a number of universities. I joined the University of Kansas as an Assistant Professor in 2020. I came to KU from UC Berkeley where I was a research scientist with the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. My research broadly focuses on improving our understanding the mechanics earthquakes and related hazards. I use techniques from geodesy, especially Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, similar to GPS) and strainmeters, to study and interpret the behavior of earthquake producing faults. I conduct research at sea, where I deploy and operate seafloor instrumentation to study subduction zones. My research is also heavily computational, and my research group has access to state-of-the-art computational resources. In my free time I enjoy hiking, creating pottery in my home studio, and spending time with my family and our two dogs on our farm in Robinson, KS.
Education —
Research —
<div class="">Dr. Jackson's main research interest is using geodetic data (for example, GPS positions that track tectonic plate movements) to study earthquake producing faults and slow slip events (also called slow earthquakes). Slow slip events occur when a geologic fault slips, as in an earthquake, but does so slowly over a long period and causes no damage. While not directly dangerous, slow slip events have the potential to trigger large, damaging earthquakes, and one goal of Dr. Jackson's research is to better understand this triggering process. Slow slip events also have great potential for revealing information about the mechanics and physical state of faults that produce huge earthquakes and tsunamis, allowing for better hazard forecasting in the future. Dr. Jackson also works on improving techniques for geophysical data inversion (fitting models to data), studying the causes and behavior of induced earthquakes in Kansas and the surrounding region, understanding fault locking behavior in subduction zones, and developing and deploying tools for making geodetic measurements on the seafloor. Her group makes use of the University of Kansas Center for Research Computing, https://crc.ku.edu. </div>
Research interests:
- Geodesy
- Slow slip Events (Slow Earthquakes)
- Subduction Zones
- Crustal Deformation
- Fault Mechanics
Teaching —
Teaching interests:
- Geophysics
- Crustal Deformation
- Inverse Theory
- Natural Hazards
Selected Publications —
<div class="fp-publications fp-container"><div class="aca-article">Jackson, N. (2020). A Long‐Term View of Episodic Tremor and Slip in Cascadia. Geophysical Research Letters - Issue 3 | Volume 47. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085303">https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085… class="aca-article">Bartlow, N. (2020). A long-term view of Episodic Tremor and Slip in Cascadia. Geophys. Res. Lett.</div><div class="aca-article">Rousset, B., Bartlow, N., Bürgmann, R. (2019). Weeks-long and years-long slow slip and tectonic tremor episodes on the south-central Alaska megathrust. J. Geophys. Res.</div><div class="aca-article">Materna, K., Materna, K., Jackson, N., Wech, A., Williams, C., Burgmann, R. (2019). Dynamically Triggered Changes of Plate Interface Coupling in Southern Cascadia. Geophysical Research Letters - Issue 22 | Volume 46. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084395">https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084… class="aca-article">Yohler, R., Jackson, N., Wallace, L., Williams, C. (2019). Time‐Dependent Behavior of a Near‐Trench Slow‐Slip Event at the Hikurangi Subduction Zone. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems - Issue 8 | Volume 20. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GC008229">https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GC008… class="aca-article">Murray, J., Jackson, N., Bock, Y., Brooks, B., Foster, J., Freymueller, J., Hammond, W., Hodgkinson, K., Johanson, I., López-Venegas, A., Mann, D., Mattioli, G., Melbourne, T., Mencin, D., Montgomery-Brown, E., Murray, M., Smalley, R., Thomas, V. (2019). Regional Global Navigation Satellite System Networks for Crustal Deformation Monitoring. Seismological Research Letters - Issue 2A | Volume 91. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1785/0220190113">https://doi.org/10.1785/0220190113<… class="aca-article">Hawthorne, J., Jackson, N. (2018). Observing and modeling the spectrum of a slow slip event. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth - Issue 5 | Volume 123. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JB015124">https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JB015… class="aca-article">Wallace, L., Kaneko, Y., Hreinsdóttir, S., Hamling, I., Peng, Z., Jackson, N., D'Anastasio, E., Fry, B. (2017). Large-scale dynamic triggering of shallow slow slip enhanced by overlying sedimentary wedge. Nature Geoscience - Issue 10 | Volume 10. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO3021">https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO3021</a>… class="aca-article">Wallace, L., Jackson, N., Hamling, I., Fry, B. (2014). Quake clamps down on slow slip. Geophysical Research Letters - Issue 24 | Volume 41. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062367">https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062… class="aca-article">Wech, A., Jackson, N. (2014). Slip rate and tremor genesis in Cascadia. Geophysical Research Letters - Issue 2 | Volume 41. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058607">https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058… class="aca-article">Jackson, N., Wallace, L., Beavan, R., Bannister, S., Segall, P. (2014). Time‐dependent modeling of slow slip events and associated seismicity and tremor at the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth - Issue 1 | Volume 119. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JB010609">https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JB010… class="aca-article">Jackson, N., Lockner, D., Beeler, N. (2012). Laboratory triggering of stick‐slip events by oscillatory loading in the presence of pore fluid with implications for physics of tectonic tremor. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth - Issue B11 | Volume 117. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JB009452">https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JB009… class="aca-article">Jackson, N., Miyazaki, S., Bradley, A., Segall, P. (2011). Space-time correlation of slip and tremor during the 2009 Cascadia slow slip event: CASCADIA SLOW SLIP AND TREMOR MIGRATION. Geophysical Research Letters - Issue 18 | Volume 38. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048714">https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048…;
Awards & Honors —
<div class="fp-award fp-container"><div class="aca-award">NSF Graduate Research Fellow (GRFP). Received: 12-31-2013.</div><div class="aca-award">Gabilan Stanford Graduate Fellow. Received: 12-31-2013.</div><div class="aca-award">NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes fellowship, New Zealand. Received: 12-31-2012.</div><div class="aca-award">Outstanding Student Paper Award. Seismology section, AGU fall meeting. Received: 12-31-2010.</div><div class="aca-award">Mellon College of Science Research Honors. Carnegie Mellon University. Received: 12-31-2007.</div></div>
Service —
<div class="">Dr. Jackson regularly engages in education and advocacy work with a variety of audiences. In 2025, she was the main speaker for the Enhancing Your Future STEM outreach event at Emporia State University for 6th-8th grade girls. She has also reached thousands of K-12 students around the globe through the Skype a Scientist program. A recording of Dr. Jackson's Skype a Scientist Live event is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfDR8oDoJPg&ab_channel=SkypeAScientist"… on Youtube.</a> Dr. Jackson is also serving as the secretary of the Tectonophysics section of the American Geophysical Union until 2027.</div>