On a research trip in December 2023 in Beagle channel of Tierra del Fuego — the southern tip of South America — James Conder, along with an SIU Carbondale student and colleagues and students from North Texas University, placed seven small seismographs to record small earthquakes in the area. (Photo provided)
September 26, 2025
SIU’s Glassman Lecture to examine seismic activity around the world
CARBONDALE, Ill. — James A. Conder, director of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s School of Earth Systems and Sustainability, will discuss seismic activity around the world as the keynote speaker for this fall’s Michael and Nancy Glassman Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Conder, a professor in geology, will present “Who’s Shaking and Why: Understanding recent earthquakes across the globe.” Presented by the University Honors Program, the free, public talk is from 5-6:30 p.m. in Morris Library’s John C. Guyon Auditorium. Refreshments will follow.
“When we discussed the current global activity, his name and volcanologist moniker obviously came to mind as someone who would be perfectly suited to interpret for us lay geologists just what we might be concerned with,” said Charles M. Ruffner, honors program director.
Conder said his discussion will focus on where earthquakes are occurring and why certain regions are more seismically active than others.
‘Powerful natural phenomena’
“Earthquakes are among the most powerful natural phenomena shaping our planet,” Conder said. “Their causes and patterns have long been a source of public curiosity and scientific investigation. In just the past few months, we’ve seen a massive seismic event and deadly one.”
On July 29, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Kamchatka in Russia was one of the 10 largest earthquakes recorded globally since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Just over a month later, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar Province near its border with Pakistan, with reports of more than 2,000 deaths.
Conder also noted that “closer to home, although usually quiet, Illinois has two seismic zones of concern,” the New Madrid and Wabash Valley seismic zones.
Understanding and preparing for earthquakes
Conder hopes the presentation provides “a sense of how earthquakes are a manifestation of how the planet works and is shaped, as well as our relationship with them.”
Conder cites an observation by historian and philosopher Will Durrant: “Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.”
“That doesn't mean there is nothing we can do, though,” Conder said. “The more we understand what, why and how, the better we can be prepared.”
Conder joined SIU Carbondale in 2008 and was promoted to full professor in 2019. He is the geology program coordinator in the School of Earth Systems and Sustainability and the geology graduate program coordinator. He earned both his master’s degree in geophysics and doctorate from Brown University and a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Utah.
The namesakes of the Michael and Nancy Glassman Lecture Series met while they were students at SIU Carbondale, and they have continued their support of the university by establishing the lecture series.