Office Location:
Specialization:
MS Thesis:
Localization of Deformation in a Lower to Mid-Crustal Convergent Margin, Sierra de Pie de Palo, Argentina.
PhD Dissertation:
Titanite Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Western Gneiss Region, Norway: Constraints on UHP Continental Subduction and Emplacement.=
Research Areas
Geochronology, Tectonics, Metamorphic Petrology, Rheology, Structural Geology
Advisor
Brad Hacker
Bio:
Award(s)
Graduate Student Opportunity Award, 2013/14
GSA/ExxonMobil Graduate Research Grant - Oustanding Mention, 2014
GSA Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology, and Volcanology (MGPV) Division Research Grant, 2014
UCSB Muckers/Earth Science Award for Commitment to Excellence in Undergraduate Education, 2013/14
UCSB Regents Special Fellowship, 2012/13
Research:
I study the physical and chemical processes of crustal deformation, particularly of the ductile-plastic lower crust, with an eye toward unraveling the tectonics of convergent and collisional margins. My first-year project at UCSB is lutetium-hafnium (Lu-Hf) dating of eclogites from the Western Gneiss Region (WGR) of Norway, aimed at more tightly constraining the timing of UHP metamorphism. My potential PhD projects include investigations of lower-crustal rocks in the WGR or the Himalayas (Tso Morari).
I am also interested in the thermodynamics of metamorphic systems, disequilibrium processes, geo- and thermochronology, strain localization, structural evolution of faults and shear zones, experimental petrology of Earth materials, and various topics in planetary science (for example, impact cratering and lunar geology).
Courses:
Earth 2: Physical Geology (Teaching Assistant), W14
Earth 104B: Field Methods (Teaching Assistant), S14
Earth 114: Geomaterials (Teaching Assistant), F13
Earth 118/119: Summer Field Geology (Teaching Assistant), M14