Pioneer Professor Continues Teaching While Earthquake Rattles His Chair in Southern California

Twin earthquakes rattle Southern California after nearly twenty years of quiet seismology activity. The first earthquake, a magnitude of 6.4, impacted rural California by Ridgecrest  on Thursday, July 4th whereas the second earthquake shook the greater Los Angeles region with a 7.1 magnitude the following day. No casualties were recorded.

A Pioneer professor, located near L.A, was leading a group session on the U.S. macro-economy when the 7.1 earthquake struck.  As students were calculating the growth rate of GDP from the ’60’s to 2008, their Pioneer professor pauses and says, “Believe it or not, I’m sitting in an earthquake right now.” A silence encompasses the virtual classroom. In a somber voice, the professor states gravely, “And this is a pretty good one.”

A student, still puzzled about logs, asks: “The earthquake or the data?” Giggles reverberate across the virtual classroom from Shanghai (China), Boston (MA, USA), Woolwich Township (NJ, USA), and Chengdu (China). A moment later, the Pioneer professor declares, “Wow, it seems to be over. Okay, I’m still alive.”

According to MichiganTech’s UPSeis, the world experiences approximately a hundred 6.0-6.9 earthquakes any given year whereas twenty earthquakes of 7.0-7.9 magnitude are recorded annually.

We would love to salute our professor who insisted on teaching throughout the earthquake!