Prof Yossi Hatzor of Ben Gurion Uni has won an international Rock Mechanics award for his way of estimating Paleoseismic PGA – the key cause of the devastating Christchurch earthquake.
http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/Pages/news/yossi_hatzor.aspx
http://www.paleoseismicity.org/blog/2011/02/23/why-was-the-christchurch-earthquake-so-devastating/