Griffith's Structural Geology and Geomechanics Lab

Ph.D student, Texas A&M University

I am interested in the mechanics of faulting and rock friction. My thesis research investigated the frictional behavior of synthetic rock gouges at pressures, accelerations, and slip velocities expected in the seismogenic zone using a modified torsional Kolsky bar apparatus. Microstructural analysis and 1-D thermal modeling was performed to explore the dynamic weakening of the dynamic coefficient of friction by flash heating.

Ph.D University of Massachusetts in Amherst

I just completed my Master’s Degree studying sandstone injectites in the Bighorn Basin, WY in May 2015. I was particularly interested in their relationship to the formation of Sheep Mountain Anticline, as well as their significance to the study of hydraulic fracture containment. Currently, I am interning at Pioneer Natural Resources in Irving, TX, where I am studying stress in the Permian Basin using OBMI and microseismic data. Ultimately, I want determine the accuracy of microseismic data in predicting the state of stress at depth.

I am a research assistant working with Professor Griffith on geomechanical models to investigate secondary fault development. My education includes a B.S. in Geology with a minor in Mathematics and a M.S. in Geology. I have interests in Geomechanics and Petroleum Geology, which I’m hoping to combine in the future for industry applications. In the past I have worked as an Intern Geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, where my work involved investigating deep down-dip Tertiary source and unconventional reservoir rocks in southern Louisiana.

I’m an undergraduate research associate using a two dimensional boundary element numerical modeling method to simplify natural fracture complexities and gain insights into the occurrence of ruptures amid cracks within solids under compression. I am further interested in the geology, geophysics, and geodynamics of Earth and the solar system. I aspire to branch into specialties such as gravitation and magnetic fields, impact processes, geomorphology, interior structures, lithosphere/mantle dynamics, tectonics, and near surface exploration techniques. Additionally, I’m currently modeling data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory to study the elemental species of supernova remnants and the accretion disks of protostars within the hot interstellar medium which may lend insights into the early formation of solar systems

I am an undergraduate research assistant for the study of clastic intrusions in the vicinity of the Sheep Mountain Anticline in North-Central Wyoming. My main areas of interest include the structural geology and mechanical relationships between deformed strata, and I have been working on building a GIS database of the clastic intrusions and related geologic information in the area.