The Bruce A. Bolt Medal has been established as a joint award by the Consortium of Organizations for Strong-Motion Observation Systems, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, and the Seismological Society of America to recognize individuals worldwide whose accomplishments involve the promotion and use of strong-motion earthquake data and whose leadership in the transfer of scientific and engineering knowledge into practice or policy has led to improved seismic safety.

 Dr. David M. Boore is uniformly outstanding in all areas of importance for the Bruce A. Bolt Medal. With more than 190 publications that are almost all focused on strong ground motion, there is hardly any area in strong-motion seismology where Dave has not made an impact. He is renowned for his work on ground motion empirical prediction equations for both western and eastern US. He has carefully considered effects due to the choice of magnitude, the choice of the orientation of the horizontal components, the effect of site and distance, and has tried to incorporate GPS as a constraint on the long-period response. Dave has been at the forefront of looking at subtle and not so subtle effects of filtering and baseline corrections on the processing of strong-motion data. While Dave has always been tied to the data, he has used his vast knowledge of the data to create a well-known method (SMSIM) for computing estimates of ground motion from simulated earthquakes. While his research has been outstanding, the fact that the ground motion prediction equations that he and his co-authors have developed are routinely used for engineering design is the ultimate accolade for this distinguished scientist.

Early in his career Dave co-authored a seminal paper that impacted engineering design (Page, R.A., Boore, D.M., Joyner, W.B., and Coulter, H.W. [1972]. Ground motion values for use in the seismic design of the trans‐Alaska pipeline system, U.S. Geol. Surv. Circular 672). This paper foreshadowed Dave’s illustrious career. His continuous efforts to improve and develop ground motion prediction equations are his hallmark. These efforts have a profound affect on seismic design. He has been directly involved with the USGS efforts in developing the national hazard maps that affect building design across the nation. He is currently involved with the seismic design for the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Dave’s insights, diligence, and dedication to strong-motion research have directly impacted the seismic safety for the US and certainly influenced the seismic safety in other countries.