Teaching:
Mr. DeGraff taught a “Topics in Geology” course devoted to landslides in spring 1996-97, fall 2001-02 and spring 2005-2006. He has designed and taught courses for practicing professionals on landslide hazard zonation, vegetation and slope stability, and burned area emergency response investigation in such diverse locations as Jamaica , Guatemala , Italy , and Bulgaria . In addition to serving as an instructor in internal agency training sessions on abandoned mine restoration, burned area emergency response assessment, and CERCLA on-site coordinator duties. He was co-instructor for several Geological Society of America short courses on engineering and environmental geology in the 1990s.

Mr. DeGraff is also the co-author of the textbook, “Principles of Engineering Geology” and the laboratory manual, “Engineering Geology”. For “Principles in Engineering Geology”, he received the E.B. Burwell Jr. Award from the Engineering Geology Division of the Geological Society of America (1989)and the Claire P. Holdredge Award from the Association of Engineering Geologists (1990). In 2004, Mr. DeGraff was honored with the Distinguished Practice Award by the Engineering Geology Division of the Geological society of America .

Research:
Jerry is currently an On Scene Coordinator for the Pacific Southwest Region of the USDA Forest Service. Based in Clovis , CA , he assesses and directs clean up efforts for acid mine drainage and other hazardous wastes present primarily at abandoned mine sites on national forest land. Until 2006, he was the Province Geologist for the Southern Sierra Province consisting of the Sierra, Stanislaus, and Sequoia National Forests in California . During his more than 29 years in the USDA Forest Service, he has served as an environmental or engineering geologist on National Forests in Utah and California . In these capacities, Jerry collected and interpreted geologic information needed for sustainable development and multiple-use management of natural resources. A primary focus of his work was landslide hazard assessment for land and resource planning, post-wildfire mitigation and design of projects such as timber harvest, roads, and similar resource development activities. His technical expertise was sought for completing landslide mapping and hazards interpretation assignments in St. Lucia , Dominica , St. Vincent and Jamaica through the USDA Forest Service's Disaster Assistance Support Program. Jerry has also served as the landslide specialist on teams conducting post-disaster assessments or developing restoration measures. Puerto Rico , Thailand , Bulgaria and Greece are among the locations where he has participated in these activities. Based on his professional experiences, he has authored or co-authored more than 40 contributions to books, proceedings and peer-reviewed journals, including co-authoring a chapter in Landslides: Investigation and Mitigation Special Report 247 of the Transportation Research Board.

Links to recent projects:

Ferguson Rockslide - http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sierra/conditions/ferguson.shtml

Debris flows and Wildfire – http://www.usgs.gov/solutions/landslides_15sept06.html