Australia is often considered geologically quiet but earthquakes occur here regularly, and many of the faults responsible are hidden underground and unmapped. The 2021 Woods Point earthquake in Victoria is a perfect example; the fault was 130 kilometres from Melbourne CBD, yet the damage was felt across the city. Dr Sima Mousavi studies these hidden earthquake sources, working to understand where they are, how they rupture, and what risks they pose to Australian communities and infrastructure.
But Dr Mousavi believes that understanding the Earth is only half the job. As the lead of the Australian Seismometers in Schools (AuSIS) program, she places real research-grade seismometers in schools across the country, connecting students directly with live earthquake data. From suburban classrooms to remote and First Nations communities that mainstream science rarely reaches, she brings real earthquake science to students who might never otherwise encounter a working scientist.
This outreach mission is urgent because Australia faces a critical shortage of Earth scientists at exactly the moment demand is rising. Geoscientists are needed for the energy transition, critical minerals discovery, natural hazard assessment, and groundwater management. Dr Mousavi’s work addresses both sides of this challenge: advancing our scientific understanding of earthquake hazard, and inspiring the next generation of Australians to become the Earth scientists our country urgently needs.
Dr Mousavi’s research focuses on characterising earthquakes and the faults that produce them across Australia. She led the first comprehensive source characterisation of the 2021 Mw 5.9 Woods Point earthquake in Victoria, identifying the previously unknown fault responsible and showing that hidden structures can pose real seismic hazard in regions long considered safe. She is currently extending this work to the 2019 Mw 6.6 Broome offshore earthquake and the 2025 Brisbane sequence, building a clearer picture of earthquake risk across the continent. She has also contributed to a new high-resolution seismic catalogue for southwestern Australia, improving detection of smaller earthquakes where historical records are sparse.
To address Australia’s growing geoscience workforce crisis, Dr Mousavi leads the Australian Seismometers in Schools (AuSIS) program, connecting students across the country with real earthquake data from research-grade instruments in their own classrooms. Since 2019 she has delivered over 250 workshops and teacher professional development sessions nationwide, with deliberate focus on regional, remote, and First Nations communities. She has secured dedicated funding to embed seismometers within Aboriginal communities across APY Lands, Horn Island, Oak Valley, Yalata, Yulara, and Nhulunbuy, building genuine, long-term partnerships with Country.