Eric Jameson Fielding is a Senior Research Scientist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. He received his A.B. in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College (1982) and his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Cornell University (1989). His research interests include the mechanics of landslides including the transition from stable to unstable sliding, the effects of climate variations and active tectonics, especially in the Alpine-Himalaya-Tibet system, on a variety of time scales ranging from co-seismic and interseismic deformation (using SAR interferometry) to Late Quaternary deformation estimated from geomorphic analysis, fault interaction via the transfer of stresses through the lithosphere and the possible applications for earthquake risk assessment, and the long-term evolution (Cenozoic) and present lithospheric structure of Tibet and Altiplano-Puna plateaus.