Current Courses

Professional Organizations

• European Association of Geochemistry. 01/15/2019 - present. Position : Member.
• AWG. 04/01/2018 - present. Position : Member.
• NAGT. 02/01/2018 - present. Position : Member.
• American Geophysical Union. 08/09/2009 - present. Position : Member.

Teaching Philosophy

Courses I Teach

• 5920/6920/7920 - Advanced Petrology
  Main focus: upper mantle processes. We will examine a variety of petrologic tools to better understand the processes involved during magma formation and transport from their mantle source to the surface. The format of this class will be a mixture of lectures, discussions, and a couple of in-class exercises.
• GEO2100 - Reactive Earth
  This course explores the solid, liquid, and gaseous parts of our planet as a chemical system. We investigate controls on chemical patterns and processes that govern Earth's chemistry and how that chemistry can be used to reconstruct otherwise hidden aspects planetary processes and Earth's history. I am in charge of teaching the 1st half, focused on reactions within the Solid Earth.
• GEO3020 - Mineralogy
  The proper identification of a rock, to be sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic, requires the ability to identify the constituent minerals. However, mineralogy is a subject that goes beyond mere mineral identification. A knowledge of symmetry, twinning, phase equilibria, crystal chemistry, etc. helps us interpret the conditions of formation of a mineral, as well as other events that a mineral has experienced. Thus, Mineralogy gives you access to the information that minerals can provide about Earth processes and Earth history.
• GEO3050 - Igneous and Metamophic Petrology
  Petrology is the study of rocks, in this case igneous and metamorphic ones (“hard rocks”). Because rocks are aggregates of minerals, this course is a natural continuation of Mineralogy. You will learn about igneous melt generation, evolution, and crystallization process, mid-ocean ridge and subduction zone igneous processes, metamorphic processes and occurrences and general principles that will allow you to interpret the rocks that you encounter.

Student Projects

• FRTE in natural samples: implications for lithology tracers. Otto Lang, Emily Cunningham. 08/19/2019 - present
• Investigating Melt-Rock Interactions in Gabbroic Rocks from the Atlantis Massif: Implications for Oceanic Crustal Accretion. Will Haddick. 08/15/2018 - 05/15/2019

Teaching Projects

• 3D rock Library (https://sketchfab.com/UofUGeo). Project Lead: Sarah Lambart. Collaborators: John Bowman, Joshua Marquardt (Grad student), Margie Chan, Nick Hebdon (Grad student), Karrah Spendlove (undergrad. student). Teaching grant from the University of Utah 07/01/2020 - present.