Dr. Michael Blanpied is a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey and associate coordinator of the Survey's Earthquake Hazards Program. He joined the USGS earthquake research group in Menlo Park, California in 1989 after completing his doctorate at Brown University. His research has focused on the physics of earthquakes (including experimental investigations of the deformation behavior of rocks), investigations of the physics and chemistry of fault slip, applications of laboratory data to earthquake occurrence and the deformation of the continental crust, computer and laboratory modeling of earthquake interactions, and the development and application of probabilistic assessments of earthquake likelihood.

He served as co-chair of the Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities, which developed a new methodology for forecasting the likelihood of damaging earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Region. In 2003 Dr. Blanpied relocated to USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia to take his current position in the Earthquake Hazards Program office, where his duties include oversight of research on earthquake physics and occurrence.

He also serves as executive secretary to the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council (NEPEC), a group that evaluates proposed earthquake predictions and prediction methods. He is a strong supporter of outreach, science education and effective collaboration with the print and broadcast media to effectively interpret natural hazards and hazards science to the public.