Fwd: Alex Bittenbinder
Gee, Lind
From: Wolfe, Cecily <cwo...@usgs.gov>
Date: Fri, Dec 7, 2018 at 4:54 AM
Subject: Alex Bittenbinder
To: Brian Shiro <bsh...@usgs.gov>, Chris Stephens <cdste...@usgs.gov>, David C Wilson <dwi...@usgs.gov>, David Oppenheimer <op...@usgs.gov>, Doug Neuhauser <do...@seismo.berkeley.edu>, Doug Toomey <d...@uoregon.edu>, Douglas Given <do...@usgs.gov>, Dr. Natalia Ruppert <naru...@alaska.edu>, Elizabeth Vanacore Maher <elizabeth...@upr.edu>, Fabia Terra <te...@seismo.berkeley.edu>, Gavin Hayes <gha...@usgs.gov>, Graham Kent <gk...@unr.edu>, Harley Benz <be...@usgs.gov>, Harold Tobin <hto...@uw.edu>, hauk...@gps.caltech.edu <hauk...@gps.caltech.edu>, Jake Walter <jwa...@ou.edu>, Jamison Steidl <ste...@eri.ucsb.edu>, Jen Andrews <jr...@gps.caltech.edu>, Jill Franks <jfr...@usgs.gov>, Jim Lewkowicz <ji...@westongeo.com>, John Power <jpo...@usgs.gov>, Kenneth D Smith <k...@unr.edu>, Kris Pankow <panko...@gmail.com>, Leland J O'Driscoll <lel...@uoregon.edu>, Lind S Gee <lg...@usgs.gov>, Lynda Lastowka <llas...@usgs.gov>, Matt Gardine <mgar...@alaska.edu>, Michael West <mew...@alaska.edu>, Michelle Guy <mg...@usgs.gov>, Mitch Withers <mwit...@memphis.edu>, Paul Bodin <bo...@uw.edu>, Paul G Okubo <pok...@usgs.gov>, Paul S Earle <pea...@usgs.gov>, Peggy Hellweg <pe...@seismo.berkeley.edu>, Robert Busby <bu...@iris.edu>, Robert Herrmann <r...@eas.slu.edu>, Seth Moran <smo...@usgs.gov>, Tom Owens <ow...@sc.edu>, Valerie Thomas <vth...@usgs.gov>, Won-Young Kim <wy...@ldeo.columbia.edu>, Keith Koper <kko...@gmail.com>, Jill McCarthy <jmcc...@usgs.gov>, Steve Hickman <hic...@usgs.gov>, Bill Leith <wle...@usgs.gov>
We are saddened to report that Alex Bittenbinder passed away in September due to cancer. Alex had a profound impact on the field earthquake monitoring. He was one of the seminal developers of systems to perform real-time recording, processing, archiving, and notification of earthquakes. In the 1980s Alex and Barbara Bogaert operated Newt, Inc. where they developed some of the earliest seismic systems for agencies such as Calif. Div. of Mines and Geology (now the Calif. Geological Survey), PG&E, and Calif. Dept. of Water Resources.
In 1991 Alex and Barbara began working for the USGS in Menlo Park to develop Earthworm, a system to monitor local and regional earthquakes. Alex recognized that it was possible to parcel out many complex and computationally intensive tasks across separate and relatively inexpensive PCs running DOS and Unix operating systems. He led USGS developers in Menlo Park and private consultants to create a functional system by 1993. Earthworm is still supported and widely used by seismic observatories and private entities around the world and networks in the ANSS that use AQMS.
In 1998 Alex and Barbara relocated to Golden where they led a similar effort to develop HYDRA for the NEIC to monitor global earthquakes. HYDRA made it possible to update earthquake locations while seismic phases were arriving, and to compute a suite of waveform magnitudes. After 16 years of service for the USGS, Alex retired in 2007.
Alex was a brilliant and dedicated individual. Whether performing winter rescues on Mt Rainier, sailing to Hawaii and the Marquesas Islands, or developing complex computer systems, he demanded the best from himself and his colleagues. Alex revolutionized the field of earthquake monitoring and was instrumental in making the USGS the premier source of real-time earthquake information.