The Jason Morgan Early Career Award this year rewards the significant contribution of Luca Dal Zilio.

Luca Dal Zilio’s work bridges the physics of earthquakes along convergent margins across scales, from the mechanics of earthquakes to mountain building processes. These processes must ultimately reconcile; however, probing the link between seismic cycles and the geodynamics of subduction remains a difficult task, one that Luca addresses with his imaginative, yet rigorous, approach.

Luca’s research tackles the emergence of seismic instabilities, ranging from slow-slip events to megathrust seismicity revealing relevant properties and scaling. At a larger scale, his work bears insight on the role of seismic deformation in the long-term processes of plate convergence and orogenesis. Using different techniques ranging from numerical modeling to GPS data and seismic catalog analysis, he has shown how the seismic cycle contributes to deformation along the front of a range of collisional chains such as the Zagros, the Himalayas, and the Alps. This body of work opens new research paths across the core disciplines of geodynamics, tectonophysics, and seismotectonics.

A peculiar characteristic of his, less apparent yet relevant, is his passionate engagement. Luca Dal Zilio’s overarching goal has always been to provide insights into the much-needed context for hazard assessment. For the practical impact of this research, he has been recruited as Seismic Risk Assessment consultant for UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) as well as the Swiss Embassy in Nepal, at the time of the recent disastrous seismic event. He has also been selected for the Global Young Scientists Summit, the recipient of Nature Geoscience’s Geostory award and TEDx Events’ speaker, occasions in which Luca has advocated for the importance of tectonophysics for the safety of the broader community.

All my congratulations to Luca, a deserving recipient for this award and a valuable member of our community.

—Fabio Capitanio, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia

Receiving the 2023 Jason Morgan Early Career Award from AGU is an extraordinary honor. I am deeply thankful to Fabio Capitanio (Monash University), Roland Bürgmann (University of California, Berkeley), Jean-Paul Ampuero (Geoazur Laboratory), and my former Ph.D. adviser, Taras Gerya (ETH Zürich), for their invaluable support and nomination. I thank the committee and AGU for this recognition. My interest in active faults started during my undergraduate studies at the University of Padua, where I was introduced to numerical modeling and subduction dynamics by Manuele Faccenda. This passion was further fueled at ETH Zürich in a challenging Ph.D. project, mentored by Ylona van Dinther and Taras Gerya, where I attempted to bridge long-term tectonics with earthquake processes. Ylona encouraged me to always strive for excellence, while Taras generously shared his vast knowledge, instilling in me the confidence to tackle complex challenges. I am profoundly grateful for their mentorship and friendship. A key chapter of my Ph.D. journey unfolded at École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris, where Romain Jolivet patiently taught me how to use geodetic data to measure elastic strain accumulation along the Himalaya—a region I hold close to my heart. Moving to Caltech opened the doors to further deepening my understanding of earthquake physics, thanks to the guidance of Nadia Lapusta and Jean-Philippe Avouac. Their mentorship has been instrumental in broadening my scientific creativity while maintaining a rigorous approach. My return to ETH Zürich would not have been possible without Domenico Giardini, who offered me the opportunity to coordinate a group of talented modelers to understand how to trigger small earthquakes, enriching my experience as a research scientist and supervisor. Since then, I’ve been very fortunate to connect with some exceptional faculty, postdocs, and students. Since my first year as his Ph.D. student, to this date, Fabio has never ceased to support me, advocate for me, and challenge me as a scientist. His reminders to enjoy the process and have confidence have been priceless, especially in moments of self-doubt. As I prepare for the next chapter, I express my gratitude to all mentors and friends for their wisdom and friendship. I sincerely hope to be able to do the same for the students I will supervise, keeping their advice in my mind. Finally, this academic journey wouldn’t have been possible without the support from my family, friends, and my partner, Sarah. —Luca Dal Zilio, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland