Pilar Villamor

Pilar Villamor is an Earthquake Geologist specializing in active faults in extensional regimes with a focus on the Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, and similar regions around the world, such as Mexico, El Salvador, and Japan. Her interests range from individual fault behavior (how often faults rupture and the magnitude of the associated earthquakes) to whole rift kinematics and evolution. Her studies also include interactions between faults and volcanoes and natural hazards associated with siting critical facilities in Australia, Japan, Spain, Vietnam, and New Zealand. She also works on active faulting and paleo-liquefaction in strike-slip and contractional tectonic environments in regions ranging from very low (Spain, Vietnam) to high (New Zealand Plate Boundary) seismic activity. She co-led the surface fault mapping of the 2010 Darfield and the 2016 Kaikōura earthquakes. Her studies underpin earthquake hazard modeling and geothermal resource assessment in New Zealand. She has led large research programs on the tectonics of New Zealand plate boundary, Taupō Volcanic Zone, and Hazards and Risk Management.