Department of Physics

Research Interests:

Observational seismology; seismic anisotropy and mantle dynamics; subduction zone dynamics and processes; evolution of the Tibetan Plateau; and continental rifting.

Current Courses:
Seismology GPHY 530
Physics 110G 

Students and Postdocs:
Gerardo Leon Soto
Xinling Wang

Selected Publication(s):

Leon-Soto, G., Ni, J.F., Grand, S.P., Sandvol, E., Valenzulea, R.W., Guzman-Speziale, M., Gomez-Gonzalez, J.M., Dominguez-Reyes, T., Mantle flow in the Rivera-Cocos subduction zone, Geophys. J. Int., 2009, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04352.x

Kumar, Prakash, Xiaohui, Yuan, R. Kind, J. Ni, Imaging the collision of the Indian and Asian Continental lithospheres beneath Tibet, J. Geophys. Res, Jun, 16, 2006, v. 111, no. B6, B06308, doi:10.1029/2005JB003930.

Wilson, D., M. West, R. C. Aster, J. Ni, S. Grand, W. Gao, W.S. Baldridge, S. Semken, Lithospheric structure of the Rio Grande Rift, Nature, 433, 851-855, 2005.

Tilmann, F., J. Ni, and INDEPTH III Seismic Team, Seismic imaging of the downwelling Indian Lithosphere beneath central Tibet, Science, 1424-1427, 2003.

Kind, R., X. Yuan, J. Saul, D. Nelson, S.V. Sobolev, J. Mechie, W. Zhao, G. Kosarev, J. Ni, U. Achauer, M. Jiang, seismic images of the crust and upper mantle beneath Tibet: Evidence for Eurasia plate subduction, Science, 298, 1219-1221, 2002.