Susan Elizabeth Hough (born 1961) is a seismologist, currently based in Pasadena, California.

 

She has served as an editor and contributor for many journals. She is the author of five books, including Earthshaking Science: What we Know and Don't Know about Earthquakes (Princeton).

 

Hough graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982 and is a University of California, San Diego Alumna, earning her Ph.D. in geophysics from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1987. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Seismological Society of America from 1998 to 2004 and of the Southern California Earthquake Centerfrom 2006 to 2009. Subsequent to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Hough led the United States Geological Survey team charged with the installation of seismic stations and accelerometers.

 

Main areas of scientific interest include earthquake ground motions, triggered earthquakes, historical earthquakes, and intraplate seismic hazard and seismogenesis. She is also interested in science communication for a broad audience, and development of technical capacity in developing countries including Haiti and Myanmar. Received AB degree in geophysics from UC Berkeley (1982) and PhD in Earth sciences from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1988). Published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, including 12 in AGU journals; and five books for non-specialist audiences.