Michael E. Wysession

Wysession earned his B.Sc. from Brown University in 1984 and his Ph.D. at Northwestern University in 1991, and has been on the faculty at Washington University since then. His research has focused on using seismic waves to identify the composition and structure of Earth's mantle, with a special focus on the boundary between the mantle and core. In 1996, Wysession created one of the first maps of the structure of Earth's core-mantle boundary,Wysession, M. E., "Large-scale structure at the core-mantle boundary from core-diffracted waves", Nature, 382, 244-248, 1996. and in 1999, he created the first accurate computer-generated animation of the way seismic waves propagate through Earth's mantle.Wysession, M. E., and S. Baqer, Earthquake Animation: Visualizing the propagation of seismic shear waves through the mantle, ©1999 (A 20-minute narrated movie in VHS format). An example of his research was the identification with Jesse Lawrence of the lower mantle Beijing Anomaly.[http://www.livescience.com/environment/070228_beijing_anomoly.html Huge 'Ocean' Discovered Inside Earth] Livescience[http://epsc.wustl.edu/seismology/michael/web/lawrence_and_wysession_2005_MONOGRAPH.pdf] J.F. Lawrence, M.E. Wysession; Seismic Evidence for Subduction-Transported Water in the Lower Mantle

Wysession is chair of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored Earth Science Literacy Initiative, leading a research community-based effort that created a concise document of what all citizens should know about Earth science. He has been active for many years with the leadership of IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology), including serving as chair of the Education and Outreach Program, working to advance global awareness of earthquakes and seismology. Wysession helped to create the NSF program on Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics. He has been an editor of five scientific journals published by the American Geophysical Union and is currently editor-in-chief of Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists.

Wysession has authored and co-authored many K-12 textbook programs including the K-8 national science programs Interactive Science Padilla, M., D. Buckley, Z. Miller, K. Thornton, and M. E. Wysession, Interactive Science [18 Volumes, grades K-8], Pearson Education, 2011. and Elevate Science Miller, Z., M. Padilla, and M. E. Wysession, Elevate Science [12 Volumes, grades K-8], Pearson Education, 2017. and the high school programs Physical Science: Concepts in Action,Wysession, M.E., D. Frank, and S. Yancopoulis, Physical Science: Concepts in Action, Prentice-Hall, 925 pp., 2004, 2006, 2008. Experience Chemistry 1Moore, C., M. E. Wysession, and B. Lutes, Experience Chemistry, Two volumes, 746 pp., Savvas Learning, 2020. {{ISBN|978-1-4183-2718-7|978-1-4183-2719-4}}. and Experience Physics.1Cochran, G., C. Moore, J. Sterlace, and M. E. Wysession, and Experience Physics, Savvas Learning, 736 pp., 2021. {{ISBN|978-1-4183-3396-6}}. He is also co-author of a leading undergraduate/graduate geophysics textbook with Seth Stein entitled Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure.Seth Stein, Michael E. Wysession (2003). An introduction to seismology, earthquakes, and earth structure. Wiley-Blackwell. {{ISBN|0-86542-078-5}}. Wysession is author of three video courses with Wondrium (formerly The Great Courses/The Teaching Company):, [https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/how-the-earth-works How the Earth Works],Wysession, M. E., How the Earth Works [A video course of 48 half-hour lectures], The Teaching Company, Chantilly, VA, 2008. [https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/how-the-earth-works The World’s Greatest Geological Wonders],Wysession, M. E., The World’s Greatest Geologic Wonders [A video course of 36 half-hour lectures], The Teaching Company, Chantilly, VA, 2013. [https://www.wondrium.com/national-geographic-polar-explorations National Geographic Polar Explorations] and [https://www.wondrium.com/the-science-of-energy-resources-and-power-explained The Science of Energy].1Wysession, M. E., The Science of Energy: Power and Resources Explained [A video course of 24 half-hour lectures], The Teaching Company, Chantilly, VA, 2016. He is the designer and instructor of a 3-day course entitled Earth, Moon, and Mars that he presents at different NASA locations. Wysession is a frequent lecturer internationally at teacher organization meetings (such as the National Science Teachers Association), science centers, and other venues.

For his research, Wysession received a Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering (1992) and a National Science Foundation Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), awarded at the White House (1996). For his education and outreach, Wysession received the inaugural Ambassador Award from the American Geophysical Union (2014), the Frank Press Service Award from the Seismological Society of America (2016), and the Geosciences in the Media Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (2021).

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• [http://epsc.wustl.edu/seismology/michael/web/index.html Washington University Academic Homepage]
• [http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2874/40/ Biography]

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Category:1961 births

Category:Living people

Category:American geophysicists

Category:American science writers

Category:Brown University alumni

Category:Northwestern University alumni

Category:Washington University in St. Louis faculty

Category:Scientists from Missouri

Category:Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers