Camilla Penney

The primary driving question of my research is, "how can we stop people dying in earthquakes?" Much of my work has looked at geophysical and geodynamic approaches to this question, trying to understand how Earth's lithosphere deforms across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. I analyse and model a range of datasets, including seismological records, satellite imagery, GPS and radar, in order to understand both the patterns of deformation which we observe, and the forces which generate them. I am particularly interested in reconciling different estimates of lithosphere rheology, and combining multiple observations to improve our understanding of the Earth.

However, this question is not one which can be answered purely geophysically, and my interest in it has at times led me a long way from my background in Physics. As a result, I have worked on many different aspects of earthquakes including: post-disaster damage assessment, scenario development and land justice.

My current research is primarily focussed on earthquake simulators - computer models of earthquakes which have the potential to provide insights into what earthquakes and sequences of earthquakes could occur in the future. These models are still in the testing phase and I convene the group in Aotearoa which looks at how we can appropriately test these simulators for their potential applications. I am also interested in the epistemological implications of using computational models as a primary guide to the future.

More generally, I am interested in how Earth Sciences as a discipline relates to the world, and particularly how a discipline with its foundations in colonialism and extractivism, can be adapted to serve a socially just, post-extractivist future. This has led to recent work with Elsa Noterman on Land Justice in Universities, which you can read about here: http://tinyurl.com/ALJantipode. As part of this interest I am passionate about making Earth Sciences a space which can be occupied by diverse people. I ran the Twitter account for Women Doing Science, a social media movement showcasing diverse women in STEM, until 2022 and encourage you to check out the archive here: https://www.womendoingscience.com/#about and our paper about its impacts here: https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221113068.

My research area has recently been described as "geodynamics and social justice" and I am always keen to connect with others interested in either of these spaces (and particularly those interested in both!)