Bruce R. Clark

Bruce Clark stepped down in 2002 after 17 years as President and CEO of Leighton and Associates, Inc., a Southern California-based consulting firm specializing in geological, seismic, and geotechnical hazards and their solutions. Prior to joining Leighton in 1977, he was Associate Professor of Geology at the University of Michigan, where he taught both structural geology and engineering geology. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Yale, and his PhD from Stanford, both in geology.

Clark’s research interests have ranged from identifying microdeformation mechanisms and features in sulfide ore minerals, to instrumenting active fault zones in southern California in a vain search for precursory stress changes that could predict earthquakes, to understanding the origins of landslides in modern geomorphic terrains. He conducted studies of the nature and causes of landslides triggered by both the Sylmar (1971) and Loma Prieta (1989) earthquakes. As Leighton’s President, Clark oversaw dozens of field investigations of active faults, numerous updates of (seismic) Safety Elements for city and county General Plans, and liquefaction and landslide studies in response to the new California Seismic Hazards Mapping Act. In 1991, Leighton and Associates completed the current Safety Element for Los Angeles County.

Clark chaired the Advisory Committee for the California Seismic Hazards Mapping Act from 1990 through 2000, including the early production of the maps themselves, and the publication of Special Paper 117, the regulations that are currently used to guide geologists and geotechnical engineers in preparing reports prior to development and construction in California. He was awarded the Leadership Award from the California State Mining and Geology Board in 1998.

He has served the broader geological community as a Director of the California Earthquake Safety Foundation, which selects the recipient of the Alquist Medal and Alquist Award(s), and as a former Chair of the Advisory Board for the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN), the regional body that implements the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). He was a member of the Organizing Committee for the 6th International Conference on Seismic Zonation, held in Palm Springs in 2000.

In 2000, Clark was appointed by the Governor to the California Seismic Safety Commission, where he chaired the subcommittee that re-wrote the Research section of the California Loss Reduction Plan (2001), and the committee on Seismic Retrofit of Hospitals (2001). He was elected Chair of the Commission for 2001-2003, and continued to serve on the Commission until 2007.

Clark was appointed to the GSA Investments Committee in 2001, the summer of the infamous collapse of the technology bubble, and chaired the Committee from 2001 through 2004. As the chair, he was assigned sole responsibility for the impact on the GSA investment portfolio of the dramatic collapse of the tech bubble, although he does point out that it was not actually his fault. He credits the subsequent recovery of the investment portfolio since 2002 to his colleagues on the Committee, who are generally more astute than he is.

gsaf@geosociety.org (800) 472-1988 x 1054GSAF - P.O. Box 9140 - Boulder, CO 80301