Faculty & Research Scientists
|James A Austin|
Stratigraphic evolution of a wide range of marine and lacustrine environments around the world
|Jaime D Barnes|
Stable isotope geochemistry, metamorphism and volatile transport in subduction zones, fluid-rock interaction and metasomatism, geochemical cycling, stable chlorine isotopes
Mechanics and kinematics of deformation in continental lithosphere, rheology of the crust and upper mantle, mechanisms of strain localization, experimental rock mechanics, tectonic geomorphology and long term slip rates on large-scale strike-slip faults.
|William D Carlson|
Field, analytical, and experimental studies of metamorphic petrogenesis, with emphasis on the rates and mechanisms of metamorphic reactions. Geological applications of high-resolution X-ray computed tomography. Analytical and computational studies of intracrystalline and intergranular diffusion.
|Elizabeth J Catlos|
The geological evolution of the Turkey (various regions), Himalayas (India and Nepal), south India (Tamil Nadu), and Slovakia (Carpathians); models for heat, mass, and fluid flow along tectonic structures; developing techniques for isotopic microanalysis; applying mineral equilibria to estimate environmental conditions during dynamic recrystallization; accessory mineral geochronology; stone decay and deformation mechanisms. Overall, I am interested in developing and applying petrochemical and geochemical techniques to the study of lithosphere dynamics.
|Ian J Duncan|
Expertise in geomechanic and geochemistry applied to: risks associated with CO2 sequestration; hydraulic fracturing for shale gas production; environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing; and the water-energy nexus. Current research focuses on the scientific, environmental and public policy aspects of unconventional natural gas production, the water-energy nexus, and carbon capture and storage. He has a particular interest in risk analysis, decision making, and legal/regulatory issues related to fracing, CO2 sequestration, CO2-EOR, and energy production.
Fluids in diagenetic and hydrothermal systems, Fluid inclusion techniques, Fracture analysis, Structural diagenesis, Unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs, Raman spectroscopy
|Peter B Flemings|
Stratigraphy, basin analysis, basin-scale fluid flow, pore pressures in seafloor sediments, submarine landslides, oil and gas migration, methane hydrates, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP)
|Julia F Gale|
Natural fracture / vein systems in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks; structural geology; tectonics
|Sean S Gulick|
Studies of convergent margins to examine tectonic influences, structural deformation, fluid flow, and earthquake hazards; imaging and geologic sampling of in situ tectonic and crater laboratories: microplates, triple junctions, transitional plate boundaries, and bolide impacts; and quantitative high-resolution marine geological and geophysical studies of tectonic and climate interactions on glaciated orogenic margins.
|Mark A Helper|
Dr. Helper is a field geologist, a generalist whose interests span igneous and metamorphic petrology, structural geology, tectonics, mineralogy and planetary field geology. His current research explores geochemical and isotopic similarities of Proterozoic and Archean crust in East Antarctica and the southwestern U.S., the Precambrian geology of Texas, and the origin of epidote blueschists in the Klamath Mountains of northern California. Recent senior honors theses under his supervision have examined the mineralogy of Texas ...
|Michael R Hudec|
Salt tectonics, 3-D computer modeling, kinematic models for evolution and growth of salt structures, structural geology, cross-section restoration and balancing, seismic interpretation
|Richard A Ketcham|
High-resolution X-ray computed tomography, CT scanning, 3D image analysis, fission-track dating, thermochronology, structural geology, tectonics, digital morphology, trabecular bone
|Stephen E Laubach|
Structural diagenesis, structural geology, fracture analysis, fluid inclusion and cathodoluminescence studies, rock mechanics, mechanical and fracture stratigraphy, hydrocarbon exploration and development in deep and/or structurally complex areas, tight gas sandstone, coalbed methane, shale gas; geologic aspects of hydraulic fracturing, application of borehole-imaging geophysical logs to stress and fracture evaluation, structural evolution of North American Cordillera, fracture history of NW Scotland, regional fracture studies Argentina.
|Luc L Lavier|
Tectonics; the structural and geodynamical evolution of continental and oceanic rifts, as well as collisional environments; numerical techniques to model tectonic processes on crustal and lithospheric scales; deformation; subduction
Structural geology, tectonics, deformation processes in the upper continental crust, folds, faults, opening-mode fractures, fluid flow through fracture systems, applications of fractals, natural hazards
|Kirk D McIntosh|
Structure and development of continental margins along convergent and transpressive plate boundaries; sediment accretion, subduction, and erosion at convergent margins; forearc and backarc extension and compression; fluid dynamics in accretionary prisms; shallow-subduction seismicity
Structural petrology, field-oriented structural geology, the evolution of complexly deformed terranes, strain analysis, deformation mechanisms, the interaction between chemical and physical processes during deformation
|Thomas H Shipley|
Marine seismology; subduction processes occurring at converging plate margins; the role of fluids in accretionary trench margins and their influence on the distribution of low-shear-strength fault zones; 3D seismic techniques
Thermo-/Geochronology, Tectonics and Structural Geology, Isotopic Provenance Analysis, Archeometry, Geothermal Exploration, and Thermal Maturation
Crustal deformation, GPS/Geodesy, active plate boundary processes, subduction tectonics, geohazards
ice sheet and glacier dynamics, tectonic tremor and slow slip, earthquakes, seismic triggering of earthquakes and other phenomena
|Nicholas J Dygert|
I utilize [bold]field studies[/bold], [bold]numerical models[/bold], [bold]experimental petrology[/bold], and [bold]rock deformation experiments[/bold] to better understand the physicochemical evolution of the lunar and terrestrial mantles.
|George B Fisher|
Tectonic and Fluvial Geomorphology, Cosmogenic and Fallout Radionuclides, Remote Sensing, Spatial Analyses
|Robert M Reed|
Microstructural analysis of rocks, particularly small-scale deformation structures and pores in mudrocks.