image: James "Jim" Mori
Credit: Seismological Society of America
For his outstanding work in expanding the Seismological Society of America’s international presence and in ensuring investment in its newest members, SSA will present James “Jim” Mori with its 2025 Distinguished Service Award (DSA). Mori will receive the award at the 2025 SSA Annual Meeting.
Mori is also recognized for his outstanding service to SSA in several key leadership roles, including terms on the SSA Board (2013–18) and as president in 2016, as well as longstanding service as a member of the SSA Investment Committee.
As SSA president, Mori brought new energy to the society’s international outreach, especially in his persistent support for a joint meeting with the Latin American and Caribbean Seismological Commission (LACSC). The meeting, first planned for 2018 in Puerto Rico, was moved on short notice to Miami, Florida after Hurricane Irma. The gathering was one of the best attended SSA Annual Meetings to date, thanks in large part to Mori’s support.
“Earthquake hazard is global in scope and Jim has long advocated that we should be proactive and generous with outreach to other societies that are well connected to their communities and research relevant to their countries,” said Peter Shearer, a past president of SSA and professor of geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, in his nomination of Mori for the award.
Following in the footsteps of his colleague Caltech Professor Emeritus Hiroo Kanamori, Mori has supported the next generation of seismologists through his work as chair and devoted promoter of the SSA Kanamori Fund. The fund provides SSA Annual Meeting travel grants to international researchers and helps support networking and mentoring opportunities for student and early-career members.
Mori’s service to SSA includes chairing the SSA Nominating Committee in 2018, helping to expand the regional and scientific diversity of the SSA Board and committees. He has also served on the SSA Government Relations committee (2021) and the Meetings Committee (2022).
Mori, now retired, was a professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute at Kyoto University since 1999, with a focus on earthquake and volcano hazards. He worked as the U.S. Geological Survey Southern California Regional Coordinator and Scientist-in-Charge at the USGS Pasadena office from 1992 to 1998.
The Distinguished Service to SSA Award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the work of the Seismological Society of America. This award is presented at the annual meeting following the year of the award.