Arch Johnston, Executive Director of the Center for Earthquake Research and Information President's Allen J. Hammond Memorial Award The PRESIDENT'S ALLEN J. HAMMOND MEMORIAL AWARD is not given every year. It is reserved for presentation to individuals whose service to the University deserves special recognition. Dr. Arch Johnston is the founding director of the University of Memphis ' Center for Earthquake Research and Information. Since taking the helm in 1984, Johnston has led a group of dedicated researchers who have earned an international reputation in seismology and have generated significant amounts of research dollars. Johnston 's area of research is seismicity and seismotectonics of plate interiors, principally stable continental regions. Other current research includes relating current earthquake activity to strain rate and developing methods to quantify the magnitudes of historical earthquakes. He has testified five times before Congressional subcommittees concerning seismic hazards of the eastern U.S. In addition to his research role, Johnston is a gifted teacher and has been integrally involved in the community. Under his direction, CERI has developed an outreach unit that has become the region's leader in earthquake preparedness and information. Johnston is a past president of the 2,000-member Seismological Society of America (SSA) and past editor of Seismological Research Letters . His committee memberships include the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council, the SSA board of directors, the Council of the National Seismic System and the Planning Committee for Active Tectonics. Johnston 's lengthy publication history includes two articles for Scientific American . Currently he is serving as a member of the National Research Council's Committee on the Science of Earthquakes and as an associate director of the new NSF-sponsored Mid-America Earthquake Center. Other honors include a Dunavant Professorship, the College of Arts and Sciences Meritorious Faculty Award, the Jesuit Seismological Association Award, Sigma Xi Best Faculty Research Paper, and the University's Distinguished Research Award. A graduate of Rhodes College , Johnston earned his Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Colorado. Congratulations, Dr. Johnston.