Dr Sylvain Barbot studied earthquake physics and geodesy at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, France and at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. As a graduate, his research focused on transient lithosphere deformation following earthquakes on strike-slip faults. During his postdoc at the California Institute of Technology, he studied the dynamics of earthquake cycles using rate-and-state friction. Today, as a Nanyang Assistant Professor at the Earth Observatory of Singapore and the Asian School of the Environment, his research focus is to understand the physics of crustal and lithosphere dynamics across many temporal and spatial scales. His main interests are to understand the role of geometry and chemistry and of fault and off-fault deformation in the generation of earthquakes. He is also developing technology to conduct geodetic surveys in the ocean using autonomous unmanned surface vehicles, to reduce the cost of seafloor geodesy.