RESEARCH INTERESTS
Michael Manga studies the geological processes that shape Earth’s surface. This includes understanding the reasons why planets have volcanoes, why those volcanoes erupt in so many different ways, and how those volcanic eruptions affect climate and other Earth systems. He studies how geological processes affect and are affected by groundwater, including the formation of geysers, the effects of earthquakes on fluid flow in Earth’s crust, and the origin of springs and mud volcanoes. He also studies similar processes on other planets, including the eruption of water on icy satellites in the outer solar system, and deciphering the coupled history of water and volcanism on Mars.
EDUCATION
B.Sc. (Geophysics) McGill University, June 1990
S.M. (Engineering Sciences) Harvard University, June 1992
Ph.D. (Earth and Planetary Sciences) Harvard University, May 1994
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Positions Held
Miller Fellow, Miller Institute for Basic Research in the Sciences,
University of California, Berkeley, August 1994 – August 1996
Assistant professor, Department of Geological Sciences,
University of Oregon, September 1996 – June 2001
Associate professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Science,
University of California, Berkeley, July 2001 – July 2006
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Science,
University of California, Berkeley, July 2006 – present
Miller Professor, September 2008 – June 2009
Judy Webb chair of physical sciences, 2013-2018
Freedman chair in Education and the Berkeley Collegium, 2019-2024
Distinguished Professor, July 2019 - present
Department chair, July 2018-2021, 2022-present
HONORS AND AWARDS
CIFAR fellow, 2022
Carl Friedrich von Siemens Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 2021
American Association for the Advancement of Science, fellow 2019
National Academy of Sciences, 2018
UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award, 2017
Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 2017
Bunsen Medal, European Geoscience Union, 2011
MacArthur Fellow, 2005
Geological Society of America, fellow 2004
Donath Medal, Geological Society of America, 2003
Macelwane Medal, American Geophysical Union, 2002
American Geophysical Union, fellow 2002
Sloan Fellowship, 2001
Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching, University of Oregon, 1999
Richard A. Bray Faculty Fellow, University of Oregon, 1999
National Science Foundation, CAREER award, 1997
Michael Manga studies the geological processes that shape Earth’s surface. This includes understanding the reasons why planets have volcanoes, why those volcanoes erupt in so many different ways, and how those volcanic eruptions affect climate and other Earth systems. He studies how geological processes affect and are affected by groundwater, including the formation of geysers, the effects of earthquakes on fluid flow in Earth’s crust, and the origin of springs and mud volcanoes. He also studies similar processes on other planets, including the eruption of water on icy satellites in the outer solar system, and deciphering the coupled history of water and volcanism on Mars.
