DURHAM, N.H. - Faculty members from the University of New Hampshire are available to provide scientific expertise and commentary on the devastating earthquake in Japan and the ensuing damage to nuclear reactors.

Margaret Boettcher, assistant professor of geophysics, researches the physics of earthquakes and the mechanics of fault slip. She is available at:
617-285-5720 (cell) or 603-862-0580 (office; available after March 21, 2011)
margaret.boettcher@unh.edu
Home page: http://www.unh.edu/esci/people/boettcher-m.html

The active plate structure beneath the Earth's surface in that part of the world makes it particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, she says, adding that such a large earthquake will produce hundreds of aftershocks for years to come.

James Connell, associate professor of physics, teaches an undergraduate course called "Myths and Misconceptions about Nuclear Science" and has presented public lectures on the topic. Jointly appointed to  the department of physics and the Space Science Center at UNH's Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, his primary research concerns nuclear astrophysics, measuring energetic particle radiation in space. He is available at:
603-862-5096
james.connell@unh.edu
Home page: http://www.eos.sr.unh.edu/Faculty/Connell

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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