Lucy Jones


Dr. Lucy JonesDr. Lucy Jones is the founder and Chief Scientist of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society (Pasadena, CA), with a mission to foster the understanding and application of scientific information in the creation of more resilient communities, and a Research Associate at the Seismological Laboratory of Caltech. With a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Geophysics from MIT, Dr. Jones furthers disaster resilience, through scientific research and collaborations with policy makers, including 33 years with the US Geological Survey. At the USGS she developed the methodology for estimating the probability that an earthquake will be a foreshock to a bigger event and led the creation of a national science strategy for natural hazards research and the SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) project.  Dr. Jones created the first American major earthquake drill, the Great ShakeOut, that has expanded to now encompass over 60 million participants around the world.

Since completing her federal service, Dr. Jones has pursued other interests, especially the consequences of risk perception for action about the climate crisis. She leads Tempo: Music for Climate Action, an organization that fosters collaborations between physical and social scientists and musicians to change the emotional climate about climate change. She has also focused on performing on the viol with Los Angeles Baroque, and composed a piece for four viols on climate change, In Nomine Terra Calens.