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Professional Preparation
Ph.D. - Geophysics Southern Methodist University - 1981
M.S. - Geophysics University of North Carolina - 1975
Dr. Ferguson has a broad range of interests in seismology, potential fields, tectonics, and the application of numerical modeling, signal processing and inverse modeling techniques. In recent years, these have involved:
The development of a new inversion method for seismic refraction data
Boundary integral modeling of elastic waves in complex, layered models
Inversion of gravity data for fluid movement in hydrocarbon reservoirs
Applications of geophysics to archaelogy
Geology and tectonics of the Rio Grande Rift in northern New Mexico
Geologic signal detection in well logs and outcrops
He is a founding member of the SAGE geophysical field camp, a consortium of academic geophysicists and the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Starting in 1983, SAGE has had over 500 students from institutions around the world. In addition, the faculty and students publish research on the Rio Grande Rift on a regular basis. In 1998 SAGE won the American Geophysical Union Excellence in Geophysical Education Award.
Publications
Brady, J. L., J. L. Hare, J. F. Ferguson, J. E. Seibert, F. J. Klopping, T. Chen and T. Niebauer, (2008), Results of the worlds first 4D microgravity surveillance of a water flood - Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, v. 11, p. 824-831. 2008 - Publication
Chen, T., C. L. V. Aiken, J. F. Ferguson, R. G. Guitierrez and G. A. Jeffress, (2008), Geoid estimation in a coastal region: Corpus Christi, Texas, USA, GPS Solutions,v. 13, in press. 2008 - Publication
Olariu, M. I., J. F. Ferguson, C. L. V. Aiken and X. Xu, (2008), Outcrop fracture characterization using terrestrial laser scanners: Deep water Jackfork sandstone at Big Rock Quarry, Arkansas, Geosphere, v. 4, p. 247-259. 2008 - Publication
Nisengard, J. E., J. Isaacson, J. F. Ferguson, E. Hinz, R. Gauthier, (2008), Seismic Refraction at Ancestral Puebloan Sites (A.D. 1200 to 1450) on the Pajarito Plateau, Northern New Mexico USA, Journal of Field Archaeology, v. 33, p. 85- 100. 2008 - Publication
Hare, J. L., J. F. Ferguson and J. L. Brady, (2008), The 4-D microgravity method for waterflood surveillance: Part IV - Modeling and interpretation of early epoch 4D gravity surveys at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, Geophysics, v. 73, p. WA173-WA180. 2008 - Publication
Hinz, E. A., J. F. Ferguson, L. Pellerin and A. F. Ramenofsky, (2008), A geophysical investigation of subsurface structures and Quaternary geology at San Marcos Pueblo, NM, LA 98, Archaeological Prospection, v. 15,p. 247-265. 2008 - Publication
Ferguson, J. F., F. J. Klopping, T. Chen, J. E. Seibert, J. L. Hare and J. L. Brady, The 4-D microgravity method for waterflood surveillance: Part 3 - 4D absolute microgravity surveys at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, Geophysics, v. 73, p. WA163- WA171. 2008 - Publication
Ferguson, J. F., T. Chen, J. Brady, C. L. V. Aiken and J. Seibert, (2007), The 4D microgravity method for waterflood surveillance: Part II - gravity measurements for the Prudhoe Bay reservoir, Alaska, Geophysics, v 72, p I33-I43. 2007 - Publication
Appointments
Head The University of Texas at Dallas [2005–2008]
Associate Professor The University of Texas at Dallas [1989–Present]
Assistant Professor The Univesity of Texas at Dallas [1984–1989]
Collaborator Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico [1983–Present]
Visiting Assistant Professor The University of Texas at Dallas [1982–1984]
Adjunct Professor Southern Methodist Univeristy [1981–Present]
Consultant Teledyne Geotech, Inc. [1981–1986]
Research Associate Southern Methodist University [1980–1982]
Seismologist Teledyne Geotech, Inc. [1979–1981]
Geophysicist Easco Services, Inc. [1975–1978]
Additional Information
Professional Recognition
1998 American Geophysical Union Excellence in Geophysical Education Award presented to the SAGE faculty.
Professional Society Memberships
American Geophysical Union
Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Seismological Society of America
Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society
Geological Society of America
License
Professional Geophysicist, license number 4890, Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists
RICHARDSON, Texas (Aug. 4, 2005) – Dr. John F. Ferguson, a noted geophysicist and long-time faculty member at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), was appointed head of the university’s Geosciences Department, effective Monday.
Ferguson succeeds Dr. Robert J. Stern, department head for the past eight years, who will begin a year-long leave – known as a “special faculty development assignment” – this fall, after which he will return to UTD to teach and conduct research. Stern will teach classes and pursue research projects during the coming fall semester at Stanford University, then move to the California Institute of Technology for the spring semester.
Campus events this week will help members of the UT Dallas community not only make sense of the tragedy in Haiti but also play a part in relief efforts.
“The Haiti Earthquake: From Natural Phenomena to National Disaster” is the topic of a lecture planned for Thursday, Jan. 21, by Dr. John Ferguson of the Department of Geosciences. The event is scheduled for noon in the TI Auditorium (ECSS 2.102).
RICHARDSON, Texas (Jan. 14, 2004) - The next time you feel the earth move under your feet, geoscientists at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) will be able to tell you when and how much - on a newly-installed seismograph in Founders Hall.
The sensitive scientific instrument, one of only a very few of its kind in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, records seismic waves generated by earthquakes - whether it occurs in an adjoining state or as distant as the other side of the globe. But mostly what it displays — on a computer screen in real-time digital readouts that resemble an electrocardiogram printout - is the "ordinary background noise of the planet," according to one of the instrument's builders, Dr. John F. Ferguson, associate professor in UTD's Department of Geosciences.
Activities
University Service Activities
Geosciences Program Seminar Series Chairman 1986 - 1987 and 2002 - 2003
Geosciences Program Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, 1989 - 1994
Geosciences Program Undergraduate Advisor, 1990 - 1992
Anson L. Clark Memorial Committee, 1990 - 1996
Intellectual Property Committee, 1994 - 1996
Geosciences Program Management Advisory Committee, 1995- 1997
Committee on Qualifications, 1996 - 1998
Academic Senate, 1996 - 2003
Program Coordination Committee for Geographical Information Sciences since 1998
Committee to Develop the MS in Geographical Information Sciences 1998 - 2000
Committee to Develop the PhD in Geopgraphical Information Sciences 2000 - 2005
Geosciences Program Graduate Advisor 2003 - 2005
Service on a number of ad hoc third-year and tenure review committees in the Schools of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Eric Jonnson School of Engineering and Computer Science.
Service on a number of academic search commitees for Departments of Geosciences, Physics and the Geographical Information Sciences Program.
Professional Activities
Review of proposals for the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and other agencies.
Review of manuscripts for the Journal of Geophysical Research, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Geophysics and other publications.
Service on the faculty of the SAGE Geophysical Field Course, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, since 1983.
Associate Editor for the Special Section on 4D Gravity Monitoring, Geophysics, v. 73, n. 6, 2008.
General Chairman for the South-Central Section of the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, March 15-17, 2009, Dallas, Texas
Affiliations
Graduate Student Advising
Doctor of Philosophy:
1) Harry, Dennis L., Ph.D., 1989, Lithospheric Flexure: Applications of Geophysical
Inverse Theory and Empirical Studies of Rock Deformation.
2) Karabulut, Hayrullah, Ph.D., 1996, Application of Boundary Element Method and Simulated Annealing to Seismic Data.
3) Hare, Jennifer, Ph.D., 1998, High Resolution Techniques for Monitoring Fluid Levels Over Time.
4) Zhou, Yu, Ph.D., 2002, Wavelet Transforms in Seismic Data Processing and Imaging.
5) Chen, Tianyou, Ph. D., 2004, Applications of High Accuracy Gravity and Space Geodesy Methodologies.
Master of Science:
1) Grotte, James R., M.S., 1985, The Development and Application of the Werner Deconvolution and 2-D Filtering to Gravity and Magnetic Data in S.E. Virginia.
2) Reamer, Sharon K., M.S., 1986, Improvements to the Fourier Gravity Inversion Method with Applications.
3) Hersey, David R., M.S., 1986, Geophysical Investigation of the Eastern Margin of the Espanola Basin, New Mexico.
4) Heidesch, Russell J., M.S., 1987, A Wide Angle Seismic Investigation of Pahute Mesa, Nevada.
5) Madtson, Eric A., M.S., 1990, Seismic Polarization Analysis.
6) Axilrod, Herbert D., M.S., 1996, SH Wave Scattering from a Sinusoidal Grating.
7) Searcy, Amy M., M.S. (Mathematics), 1998, Geological Surface Evolution
Modeling: Numerical Simulations Using Diffusion-Type Equations.
8) Smith, David, M. S., 2000, Constrained Inversion of Seismic Refraction Data and
Re-Mapping of Quaternary Deposits in Dallas County, Texas.
9) Thavoris, Ioannis, M. S., 2001, Geophysical Survey of MDA-B Waste Disposal Site at DP Mesa Los Alamos, NM.
10) Henderson, Tracey, M. S., 2002, Integrated Seismic and Gravity Study in Offshore Oman.
11) Hinz, Emily, M.S., 2007, Geophysical Applications to Archaeological Investigations.
Funding
Collaborative Research: 3-D Hydrogeological Models of Coastal Deposits to Mitigate the Impacts of Sea-Level Rise on Coastal Water Resources
$548,609 - National Science Foundation [2010–2012]
Processing, Modeling and Interpretation of SAGE Geophysical Data Across the Rio Grande Rift in Northern New Mexico
#98,400 - Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Los Alamos National Laboratory [2010–2012]
Waterflood Monitoring by Micro-Gravity Techniques
$36,200 - BP Alaska Inc [2007–2009]
Toward Forensic Reconstruction of Hydrology for Recent Rivers: Refining Methodology for Constraint of Paleochannel Dimensions
$17,455 - UTD-UTA Joint Institutional Seed Research Program [2006–2007]