George Hilley

Biography

George Hilley is currently working as Associate Professor of Geological Sciences at Stanford University.

Research Interest

I study the landscape's response to active faulting and folding of the Earth's crust. My students and I use a wide range of tools to study these processes, such as geologic and geomorphic field studies, and numerical models of tectonic and erosional processes. My research spans a broad range of time and spatial scales, from the development of mountain ranges over millions of years through the development of small landforms and watersheds over 10s-100s of thousands of years. For example, at the scale of entire mountain belts, I study how deformation and erosion within the Andes may be coupled, providing a link between deep earth and atmospheric processes. At the other extreme, I study how active uplift along the San Andreas Fault affects the short-term development of small, ~4-km-long landforms. Finally, I have recently become interested in studying large, slow-moving landslides in urbanized areas (and the hazards they pose) using remote sensing methods such as Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry.