Brian Kelly, Ph.D. Candidate:
Hey, prospective and incoming graduate students! My name is Brian Kelly, and I’m a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geological Sciences working with Dr. Ray Russo. I grew up in South Florida and came to UF in 2014 to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering. My keen interest in Earth Sciences called to me though, so I switched my major to Geology and received my B.S. in Geology here at UF in 2018. I grew to love the people and the culture of the department during my time as an undergrad. So, when I decided to pursue a career in academia, I returned for graduate school in 2019. I’ve been a part of UF’s Geology department for 6 years, and I’ve lived in Gainesville for 8, so I like to think I know my way around by now.
My research interests are in seismology, geophysics, tectonics, natural hazards, and computational advances in these fields. My current work aims to understand more about the rupture processes of large magnitude earthquakes at megathrust subduction zones. I use a variety of computational skills to accomplish this, namely seismic tomography, which allows me to use records of seismic waves to indirectly image the Earth’s crust and shallow mantle in the same way that a CT scan uses X-rays to image the inside of your body. As a result, my typical day is spent writing code to analyze seismic data for me, which I personally enjoy!
I hope to attain a federal research position working for an organization such as the USGS or a DOE National Laboratory, particularly in projects focused on mitigating the risk to human life by natural hazards. I find working directly for the public good as a scientist to be a noble, compelling, and gratifying idea.
I am happy to answer any questions you have about our department, the geosciences, grad school, how to learn to code, Gainesville, or anything else you want to know. Feel free to shoot me an email anytime!