We are excited to announce that recent graduate Jeng Hann Chong has been awarded a Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdocs, a highly competitive and internationally recognized fellowship that supports outstanding early-career researchers conducting independent research abroad.

As a Humboldt Fellow, Jeng Hann Chong will investigate the Weitin Fault in Papua New Guinea, a major strike-slip fault that has hosted two large earthquakes (Mw >7.5) in just two decades, in 2000 and 2019. His research will look at how the earthquakes are related using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). 

A key challenge in earthquake science is the limited availability of long-term geodetic records that capture repeated large earthquakes on the same fault. By analyzing the ground deformation from multiple earthquakes on the Weitin Fault, this project aims to determine whether the earthquakes were complementary and what they reveal about fault properties and behavior. Insights gained from this work may be applied to other major strike-slip faults, including the San Andreas Fault, improving our broader understanding of seismic hazard.

The Humboldt Research Fellowship supports highly qualified postdoctoral researchers worldwide and provides the opportunity to work closely with leading scientists at host institutions in Germany. This award is a testament to Jeng Hann’s exceptional research accomplishments and promise as an early-career scientist.

Congratulations to Jeng Hann on this outstanding achievement!