Academy Members

Herak Marijan, F.C.A.

Academic Titles:

• Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
• Doctor of Science

Institutions:

• professor emeritus – University of Zagreb, Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Science
• full professor with tenure – Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Science

Functions in the Academy:

• member, representative of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts – Committee of the Croatian Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Republic of Croatia (2023– …)
• head of – Scientific Council for Remote Sensing of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (2009–2016)
• secretary – Croatian Commission for Geodesy and Geophysics (1991–1999)

Membership in the Academy:

• full member – Department of Natural Sciences (05/16/2024 – …)
• associate member – Department of Natural Sciences (05/18/2006 – 05/16/2024)

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Curriculum Vitae

Marijan Herak was born in Zagreb on 3 October 1956. He enrolled in physics at the Faculty of Science (PMF) in 1975 and graduated in geophysics from the Department of Geophysics at PMF in 1981. He received his master’s degree in 1985 and defended his doctoral thesis Modelling of coda of local earthquakes at the University of Zagreb in 1991.

Since 1982 he has been an assistant, since 1992 an associate professor, since 1997 an associate professor, and in 2002 he was elected full professor at the Department of Geophysics at PMF. In 2007 he was elected full professor with tenure. He retired in 2023, and in the same year the University of Zagreb, at the proposal of his home faculty, elected him to the honorary title of professor emeritus.

Research

M. Herak’s research activity takes place within the scientific field of geophysics. As a seismologist, he introduced numerous procedures for earthquake analysis and interpretation of seismological observations into Croatia – from earthquake location as soon as electronic computers became available, the first computer analyses of focal mechanisms, the introduction and modification of innovative algorithms for seismic hazard and risk assessment, to contributions to earthquake quantification and analysis of attenuation and anisotropy in the Earth’s interior. He strongly advocated for the rapid upgrade of the Croatian seismographic network and its equipment with modern instruments. He was also significantly involved in promoting international cooperation and strengthening and establishing cooperation with colleagues in geology and civil engineering.

According to the Croatian Scientific Bibliography as of May 2024, he has published 101 research papers in journals (82 of which in journals included in WoS), 92 conference papers and/or abstracts from various scientific meetings, 2 books (as co-editor), 9 book chapters, and numerous works on popularization of science  (https://www.croris.hr/osobe/profil/16042?lang=en). Most of his papers have been published in the most prestigious seismological and geophysical journals with high impact factors. These scientific papers have been cited according to the Web of Science about 1500 times, with an h-index of 20, while Google Scholar registers over 3100 citations and h = 30. According to his scientific production and the impact of his published works, M. Herak is the leading Croatian seismologist of his generation.

He has dealt with numerous aspects of observational and theoretical seismology, among which the following stand out:

Seismicity of Croatia, earthquake location procedures and earthquake quantification:

• A new procedure for earthquake location based on a systematic grid-search of possible hypocentre coordinates.
• New empirical calibration function for surface waves that corrects for the shortcomings of the standard formula for calculating the Ms magnitude. This formula is also cited in the New Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice published by IASPEI, and the International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology (Academic Press).
• Herak determined the focal mechanisms for over 400 of the most important Croatian earthquakes, and also wrote a program for their determination. This established the Croatian database of earthquake focal mechanisms, which is used, for example, in defining geological structures and tectonic movements.
• He also analysed numerous important historical earthquakes in Croatia and surrounding areas, and determined their macroseismic epicentre and intensity.

Determination of the properties of the Earth’s interior:

• New procedure for analysing coda waves and determining the attenuation factor Qc.
• With his collaborators, he applied receiver function analysis to determine the structure of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle beneath the Dinarides, and measured the depth of the Mohorovičić discontinuity.

Seismic hazard and risk, seismic zoning:

• Herak is the author of the official map of seismic hazard in Croatia, which was published in 2011 and enables the application of the European standard Eurocode-8, which regulates earthquake-resistant construction.
• He developed new procedures for applying the measurement of ambient noise to assess the earthquake-induced ground shaking amplification in the soil layers.

A significant aspect of M. Herak’s work is his contribution to everyday seismological practice through the development of computer programs and the organization of seismological databases. He has been involved in programming throughout his scientific career, resulting in programs such as HYPOSEARCH for earthquake location and SANDI2 (co-authored with N. Orlić) for earthquake analysis and report generation, which are still in routine daily use. Additionally, his ModelHVSR program for the inversion of ambient noise measurements is used worldwide, alongside a dozen other programs related to hazard assessment or modelling of macroseismic observations.

Scientific Projects

Marijan Herak has been the principal investigator on all seismological research projects (five in total) in Croatia from 1996 to 2019 and participated as the lead researcher from Croatia in numerous international scientific projects. These projects, besides contributing scientifically and enhancing international collaboration, facilitated the acquisition of modern three-component digital seismographs. Among the 23 international and domestic projects he worked on, the following stand out:

• Velebit from Top to Bottom (HRZZ, 2015–2019): Principal investigator. This project resulted in new insights into the seismicity of the Velebit area and tectonic relationships in the External Dinarides.
• AlpArray (2015–2017): Coordinator for Croatia in a large pan-European project led by the ETH (Zürich).
• Seismicity of Croatia (MZT 119298, 1996–2002; MZOŠ 0119333, 2002–2005, MZOŠ 119-1193086-1315, 2006–2013): Principal investigator. These projects included practically all seismological research in Croatia and resulted in numerous papers in international journals and presentations at major global conferences. The seismological infrastructure in Croatia was also significantly improved.
• NATO – Assessment of Seismic Site Amplification and of Seismic Building Vulnerability in the Republic of Macedonia, Croatia, and Slovenia (2004–2008): Co-director of the project with partners from Italy, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Croatia. The project used ambient noise as an excitation signal in assessing the amplification of shaking in surface soil and determining the hazard of resonance of buildings during earthquakes.

Teaching

2000. Herak has taught six courses in geophysics at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The course Engineering Seismology was introduced into the PMF curriculum at his proposal in the academic year 1999/2000. Over the years, he has improved and modernized the courses and has written extensive lecture notes for the courses Introduction to Spectral Analysis and Seismology 2. He also teaches two courses in the postgraduate program. M. Herak supervised the preparation of 25 undergraduate theses, 4 master’s theses, and 3 doctoral dissertations (with one additional co-supervision).

Professional Work

1. Herak has co-authored dozens of professional and scientific studies and reports, focusing on the analysis of seismicity, seismic zoning, amplification of surface foundation soil layers of important structures, and determination of elements of seismic hazard. He led many of these studies. He was also a member of expert committees for earthquake hazard assessment in Croatia and abroad (e.g., for NPP Krško, in the City of Zagreb, etc.).

Functions and Memberships

Throughout his career, M. Herak has held numerous roles in the Croatian and international scientific and academic communities. Notable positions include:

• PMF: Vice-Dean for International Cooperation for two terms (academic years 2004/5–2007/8); Head of the Department of Geophysics for two terms (2001–2004); Deputy Head of the Department of Geophysics for two terms (1996–2000); Member of the PMF Council (until 2022).
• University of Zagreb: President of the Natural Science Council (2013–2015); Member of the Natural Science Council (2005–2021); Member of the University Senate (2013–2015); Member of the International Cooperation Committee (2005–2012); Member of the Statutory Affairs Committee (2005–2013); Member of the Crisis Management Studies Council (2011, 2023); Member of the Andrija Mohorovičić Award Committee (since 2018).
• International Functions and Memberships: Representative of Croatia in the European Seismological Commission (ESC) (2000–2023); Member of the Plinius Medal Award Committee of the European Geophysical Union (EGU) (2019–2023); Member of the Executive Council of the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC/CSEM) (2006–2010); Representative of Croatia in the Central European Initiative’s Science and Technology Group (Geophysics); Member of the Seismological Society of America (1983–2020).
• Other Roles and Memberships: Member of the Scientific Field Committee for Physics (2005–2008); Editor-in-Chief of the journal Geofizika (1993–2003); Member of the Editorial Board of Geofizika since its first issue (1984–); Member of the Journal Committee of MZOŠ (2015–2017); Member of the Croatian Science Foundation evaluation panel (twice).

Popularization of Science

• As an invited lecturer, M. Herak gave about twenty scientific-popular lectures in Daruvar, Dubrovnik, Makarska, Opatija, Požega, Rijeka, Samobor, Sisak, Split, Zagreb…
• Published popular articles on the seismicity of Zagreb, Istria, Ston, and Dubrovnik in the Croatian press.
• Herak is the conceptual initiator and one of the organizers of the establishment of the memorial rooms of Andrija Mohorovičić (2005) at the Department of Geophysics, PMF.
• He also actively participated in marking the 150^th anniversary of A. Mohorovičić’s birth, giving around 15 lectures, publishing several scientific and professional articles, and organizing (with collaborators) three exhibitions, as well as the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the Mohorovičić discontinuity, during which a memorial plaque was unveiled in Prague.

Marijan Herak – Home Page

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Bibliography

Marijan Herak – CroRIS