How seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones gets that

Successful women talk about managing their careers and their lives.

Photo illustration: cutting; Photo: Helen Berger

Dr. Lucy Jones is the go-to person when things literally get stuck in (day or) night. A renowned seismologist with decades of experience working for the USGS, Jones’ understanding of earthquakes and her ability to translate that to the rest of us made her popular with those who live in earthquake-prone areas of the western United States. Beyoncé Earthquakes, “was an answer to Jeopardy! And when an earthquake happens in her native Southern California, her handle will likely light up your feed as she asks questions and provides context to her 100,000+ Twitter followers.

Being a “Meryl Streep of government service” (yes, it was also called) was never Jones’ plan, but she has realized over the years that creating better communication about risks is as vital as studying the risks themselves. She has led initiatives to develop seismic safety laws and created Great ShakeOut exercises, persuading millions to practice how to fall, cover and keep going – recommended safety steps in the event of an earthquake.

Since retiring from her government job in 2016, Jones has published a book, launched a podcast, and started the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, all while taking the time to compose her own science-inspired music. Here’s how to get it done.

In her morning routine: I start each morning by exercising for 40 minutes or so. I’ve discovered that I need to exercise before I wake up enough to remember how much I hate it. Then I walk a few steps down the hall to my study/music room and sit down at the computer. I clean up the emails I’ve received overnight and then research whatever I’m working on.

On a normal work day: I have two projects that take up a lot of my time right now. The first is to help the Caltech Seismological Laboratory develop a community engagement program. I work with graduate students to develop a course for high school students, introducing them to seismology.

The second project is called Tempo: Music for Climate Action. It is a multicultural and interdisciplinary project to use the power of music to change the emotional climate around climate change. I bring together climate scientists who know what to do to tackle the climate crisis, sociologists who understand the emotional barriers to facing the problem, and musicians who understand how to invoke emotions. The goal is to create a community of people dedicated to tackling the climate problem and creating music that will help inspire more people to do what needs to be done. We started with a bi-cultural program between the United States and Japan, but in the end, we hope to become a global community.

When starting a podcast during the pandemic: I’ve been speaking quite a bit in front of an audience, but that’s mostly gone [with COVID]. My colleague, John Barry, suggested starting podcasts because, with the fear of a pandemic, people needed science more than ever. Everyone who lives through it needs to do their own risk assessment. Risk assessment is a big part of what I did in the latter half of my career, and I realized that people need to understand how to look at a problem. This was something I could help with.

On Embracing Career Changes: I think the key to my success has been the ability to pivot when necessary to take advantage of chance. I never imagined there would be such a role in the face of an audience. When I was in graduate school at MIT, I knew I needed to say I was studying geophysics, because most people on the East Coast don’t know what seismology is. I entered this field only thinking of it as scientific research. I loved physics but didn’t want a job designing bombs. I wanted to learn how to predict earthquakes and save the world, or at least part of it unfortunate enough to live near the San Andreas Fault.

I chose to work for the USGS because I wanted to use science for the public good. When I realized the gap between science and society, I left government to create my nonprofit, and wrote my book, The Big Ones.

I now realize that what comes from climate change is so bad that I cannot in good conscience enhance seismic safety without climate resistance. I have once again pivoted and added a new focus to my nonprofit work, using what I learned about how people respond to scientific information about risks to help climate scientists develop new approaches to communication.

On feeling like she’s “made it” to succeed on a professional level: Like many scientists, she’s struggled with self-confidence. Since the easiest person to deceive is yourself, the scientific peer review system asks your colleagues to read and attack your papers. It’s essential to make sure you’re right, but it’s also very hard on your self-esteem.

The greatest sense of success came during my last 10 years at the USGS leading what has become known as the SAFRR (Applying Science to Risk Reduction) project. It was an explicit decision to move away from the scientific competition and focus on the societal front. It turns out that the need was huge – and it was an exciting search. Creating the first big shake-up and getting more than 5 million people – a quarter of Southern California’s population – to participate in that first year was both exciting and satisfying.

But the height of 2015 was when I worked with the mayor of Los Angeles to develop earthquake safety policies based on our knowledge. We have created the largest seismic safety improvement ever in California. All ordinances were passed unanimously by the city council, and she was awarded the Service Medal for America at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. These overseas accomplishments made it easy to absorb the success.

On being “Beyoncé Earthquakes” and her other nicknames: This makes me smile, and it’s kind of embarrassing. But if it helps people listen more so they can take action to build their resilience to the inevitable earthquake, I’ll take it. The only person I don’t like is Lady Quake. The male scientists were called seismologists and the female scientists were called seismologists. It was a way of saying that we are less than experts.

About ambition: I entered science because of the joy I find in research. There is nothing like the feeling you get when you get to know some basic physical facts and know that you are the first person to know it. I was ambitious to make those discoveries.

The change over time has been the shift in focus from mere knowledge to knowledge that is used to make life better for people. I am completing my career by creating a non-profit organization to advance the understanding and use of science by the greater community. I try to inspire early-career scientists to increase collaboration with policy and decision makers to create a safer society.

About “having everything”: Believing you can have it all is a sure path to disappointment. Professional demands take you away from your family, and your family takes you away from your career. Making the decision to work part-time for ten years when one of our children was struggling was the best decision I ever made – I was able to give my best to the parts of the family and the career that I needed.

On using social media for science communication: The only social media I use is Twitter, which I joined after an earthquake in 2014. People turn to social media to confirm and help them address what they are experiencing or think they have done. Quakebots at Caltech and elsewhere share earthquake data; I add How do I think of information – what does it mean to you?

Sometimes people get pissed off if I don’t tweet right away, but some earthquakes aren’t worth 280 characters.

When calming down: Music is my most important safety valve. I play the viola da gamba, an early stringed instrument that looks a bit like a cross between a cello and a guitar. I play for the Los Angeles Baroque, as well as small teams. Nothing settles in my soul like two hours of Telemann or Bach.

I take a long walk every night with my husband next door. Sometimes we watch TV, but when I really want to relax my mind, I read science fiction as I have since my father introduced me to Isaac Asimov when I was 14. He said I was a 14-year-old girl. , as the heroine in Second Foundation. I wasn’t sure what “precocious” meant, so I read the book to see what he was saying about me.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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