21 September 2026—[Editor’s note: Asiye and Fari’s seismology stories mark the 100^th column in our At Work series! To celebrate this milestone, SSA decided to keep this column in a Q&A format to showcase the complete conversation. Farzaneh is a postdoctoral research associate at Washington University in St. Louis, and Asiye is a research scientist at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology]

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 SSA: Can you tell me how the two of you first became interested in earth sciences and seismology in general? Were you always thinking of a career in the sciences?

Asiye: Kids are the best scientists ever. As a child, I had endless questions, I would collect leaves and seeds and sort them into different groups, and classroom experiments excited me to my core. But none of that everyday curiosity compared to what happened in the middle of one summer night, when my parents rushed my siblings and me outside.

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I asked, “What is happening?” Pulling my hand, my mom said, “Hurry up, it’s an earthquake!” Before I could ask the question every nine-year-old would ask, I found myself standing in the doorway, dancing with Love waves. My sister, Fari, was just a toddler, and I doubt either of my parents could have imagined then that both of us would one day become seismologists.

Asiye Aziz Zanjani

When I was admitted to the geology program at the University of Tehran, I found myself especially drawn to courses that combined mathematics and physics. At the time, my sister, Fari, was studying physics, and I would visit her dormitory every weekend. We would spend hours talking about our courses. Fari would explain subatomic particles, Einstein’s theory of relativity, spacetime and black holes. I would tell her about plate tectonics, faults and earthquakes.

When I took my introductory geophysics course, I couldn’t help but share my excitement with Fari. In my final semester, I enrolled in an elective course on seismotectonics, and that was when I made up my mind to pursue seismology. Some of my peers questioned how I would compete with students from physics, but Fari washed away any doubt I had.

Northwest Iran is an active seismic region, and it is no coincidence that our hometown hosted a prestigious geophysics program. Fari and I decided that we would both pursue master’s degrees in geophysics there. When I was admitted, she visited me at the first opportunity. By the time Fari joined the program, I was nearing graduation, so our time there overlapped only briefly, but it became one of the most memorable periods of my education.

During that time, we grew intellectually very close. We are never short of topics to discuss, and our different academic backgrounds make those conversations even more enriching. We have come to deeply appreciate the value of different perspectives in scientific research.

Farzaneh: For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of studying abroad and becoming a scientist, and I’ve been fortunate enough to live that dream. Much of that motivation came from my mother, who never had the opportunity to attend school. She used to tell us every day, “I hope you earn your living using your pen one day,” by which she meant that she hoped we would build our lives through education and knowledge. That wish stayed with me and shaped many of the decisions I made throughout my life.

Farzaneh Aziz Zanjani

I was deeply drawn to the language of physics and mathematics. I loved the feeling of taking something that seemed mysterious, whether the motion of particles or the behavior of light, and understanding it through mathematical reasoning. Every time that happened, I felt pure joy. That passion led me to begin my undergraduate studies in atomic and molecular physics at a university in Tehran.

I remember clearly when I first became interested in geophysics, the path that eventually led me to seismology. At the time, my sister, Asi, was studying geology at the University of Tehran, and through our conversations, I was introduced to a world I knew almost nothing about, geology and tectonics.

Asi can be very poetic sometimes. One day she said to me, “Fari, did you know oceans are born and die like us?”

I was amazed and asked her what she meant. She began telling me about mid-ocean ridges, subduction zones, and plate tectonics. She showed me maps and explained the history of our planet. I found it absolutely fascinating and wanted to learn more, not knowing that my fascination with subduction zones would one day become the subject of my Ph.D. research.

The following year, we both decided to pursue geophysics at the graduate level. She would help me with geology, and I would help her with mathematics and physics. That is how we each found our way into seismology.

SSA: What is your current research focus, and what projects are you working on now?

Asiye: My current research focuses on improving the earthquake catalog for New Mexico, a region that experiences both natural seismicity associated with volcanism and induced earthquakes related to industrial activity in the northern Delaware and Raton Basins. These basins present significant challenges for earthquake characterization due to their complex geology, interconnected fault networks, and small-scale crustal heterogeneities. Because induced earthquakes are often small in magnitude and occur at shallow depths, accurately locating them can be difficult. Improving their location is important for understanding seismicity and improving earthquake hazard assessments.

I’m tackling this challenge in two ways. First, I’m using ambient noise recorded in seismic stations to develop a high-resolution seismic velocity model for southeastern New Mexico. This model will improve constraints on the three-dimensional locations and source mechanisms of earthquakes.

In parallel, I am trying to incorporate machine learning (ML) into the operational workflows of the [New Mexico Tech Seismological Observatory] network. ML pickers can automate seismic phase picking and improve catalog completeness by detecting small events that might otherwise be missed. However, the implementation is not straightforward because existing ML models are trained on data that is different in distribution from our dataset. As a result, these models fail to detect some of the seismic phases or report false detections.

During my postdoc, I developed a framework that integrates seismic phase picks detected by multiple combinations of ML pickers and models, performs cross-model validation, and builds an ensemble catalog from the aggregated picks. I first tried this code to monitor offshore swarm activity north of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and the results are currently under review for publication. The primary goal of developing an ensemble catalog for New Mexico is to enhance the completeness and accuracy of the earthquake catalog, which can then be used to retrain ML pickers on local seismic picks. Ultimately, this region-specific model can be incorporated into the network’s daily processing workflow to help analysts accelerate seismic phase picking and earthquake cataloging while maintaining high-quality event detection.

I’ve taught two courses at the undergraduate level so far, Introduction to Geophysics and Earth systems. I love teaching and I intend to have a mix of research and teaching in my career.

Fari and Asi Aziz Zanjani at the 2026 SSA Annual Meeting

Farzaneh: My current research mostly focuses on Antarctica and icequakes. I became interested in this topic because understanding deformation in Antarctica is one of the building blocks for understanding ice shelf stability, improving ice-sheet models and sea level projections.

I am currently finishing a project focused on moment tensor inversion and understanding seismic activity associated with a rift zone in the Ross Ice Shelf. These are small magnitude icequakes, and studying their source mechanisms presents unique challenges. In the future, I would like to expand similar work to different glaciers and investigate basal icequakes as well.

I am also involved in a machine learning project aimed at building a robust catalog of Antarctic seismicity. This will be critical for identifying more icequakes suitable for moment tensor inversion and for improving our broader understanding of ice dynamics.

In addition, I have ongoing research on seismicity in the Tonga subduction zone, primarily focused on earthquake relocation. This work is more closely aligned with the research I conducted during my Ph.D. and allows me to continue exploring tectonic processes alongside my work in cryoseismology.

Since starting my position at Washington University, Michael [Wysession] and Doug [Wiens] have also given me opportunities to contribute to teaching parts of their courses. Much of this involves developing creative ways to teach important geophysical concepts and tools, such as using music to explain the Fast Fourier Transform, as well as introducing students to different types of geophysical data, including earthquakes and climate data.

SSA: How do you keep up with advances in theory and techniques in your field?

Asiye: I read as many papers as I can, but I am selective about what I read. I start by skimming the abstract and introduction before I read any paper. Chasing new ideas in publications, attending meetings, and approaching people who work in areas that interest you or who have questions similar to yours, are all great ways to build on your ideas and projects. I also try to do more interdisciplinary research and go beyond my comfort zone.

Farzaneh: I try to keep up with advances in the field in several ways. Reading recent papers is, of course, one of the most important. I often follow new studies not only to learn about scientific discoveries, but also to see what methods and tools others are developing and how they might be useful in my own research.

I also try not to limit myself to what I already know and make a point of exploring new tools and techniques whenever possible. For example, during my first postdoc, I worked on an InSAR project focused on structural deformation in buildings in Miami, which was quite different from my seismology-related research. Stepping into a different area helped me develop new perspectives and broaden my technical skills. Whether it is a new analysis, a computational workflow, or a machine learning approach, I find that experimenting with new tools is one of the best ways to stay current and continue learning.

Conferences are another important part of that process. They are a great opportunity to hear about the latest work, exchange ideas, and learn directly from others in the community.

Most importantly, I think being surrounded by curious and creative people makes a huge difference. Some of the best ideas come from informal conversations with colleagues who bring different perspectives and challenge how I think about problems. Staying engaged with that kind of scientific community helps me keep learning every day.

SSA: Do either of you do any kind of public STEM outreach?

Asiye Aziz Zanjani

Asiye: I helped my postdoctoral supervisor with a daylong workshop for middle school students about earthquakes. The activity students enjoyed the most was playing with a simple fault rupture model consisting of a single block resting on a rough surface and attached to a rope to show “stick-slip” behavior. As one of students steadily pulled the rope, tension built up and the block suddenly slipped forward with an audible snap, simulating the sudden rupture and energy release during an earthquake. I learned a lot that day on how to engage with students and show them how science works. I’ve also volunteered to help with a STEM activity taking place this summer at NMT, which should be very exciting.

Farzaneh: While I have not been extensively involved in public STEM outreach, I have had some opportunities to participate, including a seismology demonstration during our department’s Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences Open House last year.

I really enjoyed the experience of introducing seismology to a broader audience and seeing how curious people can be about Earth processes when they are presented in an accessible way. Outreach is a great reminder of the importance of communicating science beyond the research community and making our work more approachable and relevant to the public.

As an early-career scientist, I am still exploring how to incorporate more outreach into my career, but I do see it as an important part of being a scientist, especially in a field like geophysics, where our work is closely connected to natural hazards and global environmental change.

SSA: There seems to be some overlap in your respective research fields, but do you find that you share ideas or work together on any projects?

Asiye: There is some overlapping areas such as developing high-resolution earthquake catalogs. Even though we have used different methods, their basic concepts overlap which gives us the opportunity to compare those methods. There are some areas each of us has explored more than the other one. Farzaneh has done more source studies using different techniques and has also published an impactful study on coastal deformation using InSAR that gathered a lot of attention. I’ve focused last year mostly on machine learning applications. We’ve not had the opportunity to work together on a single project even though we like the idea. We share and discuss ideas, especially when it comes to interpretation or troubleshooting.

SSA: If money and time were no object, what would your “dream projects” in seismology be?

Asiye: I’m very interested to understand how faults talk to each other in complex tectonic systems, meaning how the behavior of one fault influences the stress evolution and activity of neighboring faults. Rather than viewing faults as isolated structures, I think of them as dynamically coupled elements within a broader stress field, like a network of interacting oscillators. As you know, the density of rocks, temperature and pressure all changes with depth, and so does the way rocks deform under stress. Faults also differ not only in their geometry and size, but in how they release strain. Some faults release accumulated strain gradually, generating frequent small earthquakes, like making a low volume hum. Other faults stay quiet for long periods and release strain suddenly and generate large earthquakes. These behaviors are not fixed and evolve as faults and stress conditions change. Fluids add another layer of complexity, especially in induced settings, where they can influence fault behavior though different mechanisms. I like to experiment and model these variables in complex fault systems not as independent factors, but as feedback-coupled processes that can produce a wide range of behaviors and interactions.

I think creativity is not reserved for the few, it grows from staying with a problem long enough to harvest the fruits of curiosity.

Farzaneh Aziz Zanjani

Farzaneh: I fell in love with seismology because of subduction zones, so if money and time were no limitation, I would love to study them on a much broader scale. I imagine something similar to SZ4D but expanded to include subduction zones around the world and to monitor them through time, although that might require the superpower of living forever. Each one is fascinating, with its own unique behavior, structure and unresolved puzzles. I would love to better understand what controls their differences and what they can teach us about earthquake processes and Earth’s dynamics.

At the same time, I have found studying icequakes in Antarctica to be both exciting and unexpectedly fascinating. There is something unique about applying seismological tools to understand the behavior of ice and its response to environmental changes. A dream project would be to combine dense seismic observations, machine learning and moment tensor analysis to study icequakes across different glaciers and ice shelves, and to better understand the links between ice dynamics, ice discharge, and sea level rise.

In many ways, my dream projects would continue to bridge these two worlds: the tectonic processes that first drew me to seismology and the cryoseismic questions that have become such an exciting part of my current research.

SSA At Work is a monthly column that follows the careers of SSA members. For the full list of issues, head to our At Work page.