Hosseyn Hamzehloo (1966 – 2017)
On 13 March 2017, Prof Dr Hosseyn Hamzehlo, our dear colleague in the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, Tehran, Iran, passed away at the age of 50, after 9 months courageous fighting against blood cancer. He was a professor of Engineering Seismology, IIEES.
He started his career in IIEES in December 2000. Hosseyn graduated with a BSc degree in Physics, from Arak University, Iran, 1988, and MSc in Geophysics and then MTech in Engineering Geophysics from I. I.T Roorkee, India 1996. His MSc thesis was a study related to the 1990 Rudbar earthquake sequence in NW Iran. He then followed his education in IIT Roorkee, India to obtain his PhD in 2000. The subject of his PhD dissertation was "Seismic modeling of fault rupture for four Iranian earthquakes". He was the first Iranian scientist to be focused on the numerical aspects of strong motion simulation.
He started the studies on induced seismicity on the Iranian Dam Sites and conducted several projects, using the installation of temporary seismic networks. Some of the induced seismicity studies conducted by Hosseyn might be mentioned, as seismic networks in the region of Darian Dam (Zagros belt) and the Sarcheshmeh Mining Complex (Central Iran).
He also worked on attenuation of P and S waves in Alborz and north central part of Iran using the data recorded by permanent and temporary networks. These studies resulted also in estimates of direct-shear waves (Q d), coda (Q c), intrinsic (Q i) and scattering quality factor (Q Sc) in the crust of central and eastern Alborz region. He additionally worked on hybrid models, especially for the regions with no sufficient strong ground motion data, in order to build empirical models. In his later works he applied the host-to-target method.
Hosseyn was a serious and kind lecturer in the graduate school of IIEES in MSc and PhD in Geophysics, Seismology. He taught different courses as Strong Motion Seismology, Engineering Seismology, An Introduction to Seismology, Wave Form Modelling, Strong motion Simulation, Elastic Wave Equations. He supervised several MSc and PhD seminars, theses and dissertations. He conducted 6 PhD students on seismology. These students are now serving as faculty members in IIEES, University of Tehran, University of Hormozgan and other academic centers of Iran.
He performed an appreciable profile during about 16 years of his activities in IIEES (see his google scholar profile). He was a real friend and a perfect scientist. He is survived by his small family; his wife and daughter (Mahdieh, 17 years old). Hosseyn will remain in our minds for his kindness, initiation and determination in professional research career, and especially for his real human character. God Bless him and R.I.P.
Mehdi ZARE, Prof of Engineering Seismology, International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES), Tehran, Iran, email: mzare@iiees.ac.ir
