Stephen P Grand

Stephen P Grand
Professor Emeritus, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences


Dr. Grands' research has focused on seismically imaging the mantle of the earth. This has included an effort to develop a three-dimensional image of shear velocity throughout the mantle of the earth. The ultimate goal of this effort is to determine the dynamics of flow in the mantle. Dr. Grand has also been involved in several regional seismic studies including studies of the Kurile subduction zone, the India-Tibet collision zone, the East Pacific Rise, and the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Recently he has been involved in a passive seismic deployment across the Rio Grande Rift and Colorado Plateau.

Areas of Expertise

Seismic imaging of Earth's mantle, tomography, dynamics of flow in the mantle, regional seismic studies


Research Locations



Member, NSF Geophysics Program Panel (2005 - 2007)

Member, NSF Southern California Earthquake Center Panel (2005)

Member , Panel for the Geophysics Program in the ERA Division, National Science Foundation (2005 - 2007)

Member , Panel for review and site visit for the Southern California Earthquake Center, National Science Foundation (2005)

Member, Global Seismic Network Standing Committee, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (2001 - 2003)

Member, Standing Committee, IRIS Global Seismic Network (2000 - 2002)

Chair , Seismology Program Committee, American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting (1997 - 1998)

Chair, Seismology Section , American Geophysical Union - National Fall Meeting (1997 - 1998)

Member, PhD Committee for Sir Widiyantoro, Australian National University (1997)

Discussion Leader / Session Organizer, Seismic Structure of the Deep Mantle / The History and Dynamics of Global Plate Motions, Chapman Conference - Point Reyes, CA (1997)

Secretary, Seismology Section, American Geophysical Union (1996 - 1998)

Secretary, Seismology Section, American Geophysical Union (1996 - 1998)

Associate Editor, Reviews of Geophysics (1995 - 1996)

Associate Editor, Reviews of Geophysics, (1995 - 1996)

Special Session Organizer, Subduction Zone Processes, American Geophysical Union (1992)

Member, Standing Committee, IRIS Global Seismic Network (1990 - 1992)

Member, Global Seismic Network Standing Committee, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (1990 - 1992)

Member, American Geophysical Union

Graduate Students

Edward Clennett , Ph.D., expected 2024 (Committee Member)
I am a fifth year PhD candidate in the geodynamics and tectonics group at UT Austin. I am interested in plate tectonic reconstructions, and how we can use geodynamic and geophysical constraints to better model past plate motion and continental deformation. Plate motion and deformation are modelled through time using plate reconstructions. These are widely used across industry and academia...

Chujie Liu (Supervisor)

Ruide Ao, M.S., 2021 (Supervisor)
Department of Geosciences

Peter Nelson, Ph.D., 2020 (Supervisor)
Department of Geosciences

Chang Lu, Ph.D., 2018 (Supervisor)
Department of Geosciences

Menal Gupta, Ph.D., 2017 (Committee Member)

Yang Wang, M.S., 2013 (Supervisor)

Sandy Suhardja, Ph.D., 2013 (Supervisor)

Yu Xia, M.S., 2013 (Supervisor)


"Upper Mantle studies Using Passive Seismic Arrays", University of Quebec at Montreal, (2005)

"Upper Mantle Structure of the Western United States", California Institute of Technology, (2004)

"Upper Mantle studies Using Passive Seismic Arrays", Rice University, (2004)

"Seismic tomography and the flow in the Earth's mantle, Frontiers in Geophysics" (invited), Los Almos National Lab, (2003)

"Joint Modeling of Seismic, Geodynamic and Mineral Physics Data: Implications for the origin of 3-D density and seismic velocity anomalies in the mantle", invited talk, American Geophysical Union, (2003)

"Shear wave tomography and the fate of subducted slabs", IPGP, Paris, France (2002)

"Shear wave tomography and the fate of subducted slabs", invited talk, Royal Society symposium on Mantle Reservoirs, London, England (2002)

"Seismic tomography and flow in the Earth's mantle", invited talk, Craaford Symposium, Sweden (2002)

"Seismic Tomography and Flow in the Mantle" (invited paper), American Geophysical Union, (2001)

"Seismic Tomography and Past Plate Motions", Penn Stat University, (2000)

"Using broad band bodywaves for global tomography", Harvard University, REM Conference, (2000)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", University of Tokyo, Earthquake Institute, (1999)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", Arizona State University, (1999)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, Tsukuba, Japan (1999)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", University of Oregon, (1999)

"Seismic Tomography and Past Plate Motions", Princeton University, (1999)

"Two Barriers to Flow in the Lower Mantle", Super Plume Conference, Wako City, Japan (1999)

"Two Barriers to Flow in the Lower Mantle", IUGG Conference, Birmingham, England (1999)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", University of Arizona, (1998)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", University of Texas; Cornell University, (1998)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", University of Texas at Austin, Acoustic Seminar, Engineering Mechanics, (1998)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", University of Illinois, (1998)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", Columbia University, (1997)

"Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth", Southern Methodist University, (1997)

Discussion leader and session organizer for "Seismic Structure of the Deep Mantle", Chapman Conference on The History and Dynamics of Global Plate Motions, Point Reyes, California (1997)

"Slabs in the Lower Mantle", Ocean Hemisphere Project, Tokyo, Japan (1997)

"Tomographic inversion for mantle structure and its relation to mantle convection", New Mexico State University, (1996)

"Constraints on large scale mantle structure" , Gorndon Conference, Plymouth, NH (1996)

"Evidence for Slabs Lying at the Base of the Mantle", American Geophysical Union, (fall), San Francisco, California (1996)

"Tomographic inversion for mantle structure" , Harvard University, (1995)

"Tomographic inversion for mantle structure and its relation to mantle convection", Rice University, (1995)

"Large scale upper mantle structure", Invited for the symposium entitled "Iliad Conference", Taos, New Mexico (1994)

"Mantle shear structure and its relation to subduction", California Institute of Technology, (1993)

"Mantle shear structure and its relation to subduction", USGS at Menlo Park, (1993)

"Mantle shear structure and its relation to subduction", Scripps Institute of Oceanography, (1993)

"The relation between subduction history and lower mantle heterogeneity", Invited for "Subduction Zone Processes" session, American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, California (1992)

"Tomographic inversion for mantle structure beneath North and South America", Washington University, St. Louis (1991)

"Mantle shear structure from bodywave arrivals", Invited for the symposium entitled "Gilbert Symposium on Global Seismology", Scripps Institute , (1991)

"Mantle shear velocity structure beneath the Americas and surrounding oceans", University of California at Berkeley, (1990)

"Mantle shear velocity structure beneath the Americas and surrounding oceans", University of California at Santa Cruz, (1990)

"Investigating the mantle using intermediate periods", Third Annual IRIS Workshop held in the Hilton Head, South Carolina (1990)

YearSemesterCourse
2023Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2023Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2022Fall GEO 380F Seismology II
2022Fall GEO 391 Physics/Chem Of The Mantle
2022Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2022Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2021Fall GEO 380F Seismology II
2021Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2021Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2020Fall GEO 380F Seismology II
2020Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2020Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2019Fall GEO 380F Seismology II
2019Fall GEO 391 Physics/Chem Of The Mantle
2019Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2019Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2018Fall GEO 380F Seismology II
2018Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2018Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2018Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2017Fall GEO 303 Introduction To Geology
2017Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2017Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2017Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2017Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2016Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2016Fall GEO 380F Seismology II
2016Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2016Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2016Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2015Fall GEO 366M Mathematical Meths In Geophys
2015Fall GEO 380J Mathematical Meths In Geophys
2015Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2015Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2014Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Seismology
2014Fall GEO 380F Seismology II
2014Spring GEO 354 Physics Of Earth
2014Spring GEO 384D Physics Of Earth
2014Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Seismology