Feds Fete Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Lloyd Cluff.

Business & News Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 2000

Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Geosciences Director Lloyd Cluff, a man who rolls when the world rocks, will receive this year's John Wesley Powell Award, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) highest honor. The award will be presented by the USGS, an arm of the Department of Interior, on Nov. 3 in Reston, VA.

The Powell award is bestowed on scientists and organizations that make outstanding contributions, through leadership, to further the mission of the USGS. Cluff will accept the award, not only for his own personal leadership and contributions, but also for those of Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the improved seismic safety and reliability of gas and electric systems.

"Lloyd Cluff has been selected as this year's recipient of the USGS' John Wesley Powell Award in recognition of his distinguished career dedicated to protecting the general public and critical facilities from the effects of earthquakes, and for his invaluable investigations of destructive earthquakes worldwide," said USGS Chief Scientist Mary Lou Zoback. "Lloyd Cluff has been indefatigable in his contributions to, and support of, the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program of the USGS."

For more than 30 years, Cluff has spearheaded the drive to reduce the risks of earthquake hazards in the United States and in other earthquake-prone nations around the world. He also leads a flying squad of Pacific Gas and Electric Company experts, who investigate major temblors, often arriving before the dust has barely settled.

The team was on the scene of last year's devastating quakes in Turkey and Taiwan. Those investigations provided crucial information about better ways to strengthen buildings and reduce damage to gas and electric systems on or near active faults.

From 1985 through 1999, Cluff served as commissioner, vice-chairman, and chairman of the California Seismic Safety Commission. He played active roles, as well, in other seismic safety efforts such as those of the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation and the National Research Council.

As director of Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Geosciences Department, Cluff was instrumental in developing a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the USGS for earthquake hazards assessment work in California. The result was a significant advance in the understanding of earthquake hazards and their effects on the state. Cluff also has served as an adviser to the governments of Egypt, Ecuador, Israel, Italy, Iran, Peru, Portugal and Venezuela on the safe siting of critical facilities that could be affected by earthquakes.

"It is a wonderful honor to receive this award, named after one of the greatest scientists and explorers of the west," Cluff said. "I want to acknowledge Pacific Gas and Electric Company for giving me the opportunity to serve the utility and our customers to improve seismic safety and the reliability of our energy systems."

John Wesley Powell (1834-1902) was a distinguished geologist and explorer who first mapped the Colorado River. He later served, from 1881 to 1894, as director of the USGS. The first Powell award was presented in 1971.

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