John Woodhouse (geophysicist) facts for kids
John Henry Woodhouse is a famous English scientist. He is a geophysicist, which means he studies the Earth's physical processes. He used to be a professor at the University of Oxford in the Department of Earth Sciences.
He earned his Ph.D. (a high-level university degree) in 1975. He studied Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University. After spending two years at Scripps and Cambridge, he started teaching at Harvard University in 1978. He quickly became a full professor there. In 1990, he moved back to England to become a professor at Oxford University.
Understanding Earth's Inside
Dr. Woodhouse has spent his career studying the Earth's interior. He researched how fast seismic waves travel through the Earth. These waves are like vibrations that move through the ground, often caused by earthquakes.
Mapping the Earth
He developed special ways to use these waves. This helped him create maps of what the Earth looks like deep inside. He found out that the speed of these waves changes in different places. This helped scientists understand how the Earth's giant plates move. He also did the first study of how fast waves move in the lower part of the Earth's mantle, which is a layer deep inside our planet.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Woodhouse has received many important awards for his work.
- In 2000, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very special honor for top scientists in the United Kingdom.
- In 2010, he received the Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. This award was for his lifetime of work in geophysics. He developed a special computer method that is now used by many scientists to study earthquakes and the Earth's inside.
- He also received the James B. Macelwane Medal in 1984 and the Inge Lehmann Medal in 2001. Both of these awards came from the American Geophysical Union, a big group of Earth scientists.
