My current research projects combine fieldwork, elemental and isotopic analyses, geochronology, and high-spatial resolution microanalytical techniques to place important constraints on challenging geologic and environmental problems. Currently, I have several research projects that my undergraduate students and I are exploring. Below are two of these research projects that involve undergraduate students.
​
One of these projects is aimed at understanding the origins of exceptionally large potassium-feldspar crystals (>4cm) that are found within rocks that represent the once-active roots of ancient volcanic systems. Although potassium feldspar is a common rock-forming mineral, the formation of large, perfectly-shaped potassium feldspar crystals has remained a long-standing controversy in igneous petrology for nearly 100 years. My students and I are using detailed microscopy and geochemistry to test competing hypotheses regarding the enigmatic origins of these crystals.
I am also working with undergraduate students to solve environmental problems. More specifically, my students and I are currently evaluating the spatial distribution of heavy metal contaminants (Pb, Hg, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Cd) in soils within Morgantown, WV. Because Morgantown is located within a region with a well-documented legacy of coal burning, coal mining operations, and glass manufacturing, this city is an excellent location to evaluate the links between heavy metal contamination caused by coal burning and its impacts on human health.
​
Other undergraduate research projects:
-
Using Gigapan and Google Earth to document and map mass wasting events within Morgantown, WV
-
Petrology and Geochemistry of Granitoids in SW Montana and NW Nevada
-
Geochemistry and Petrography of Kimberlites in SW Pennsylvania
-
Raman spectroscopy of minerals from Serpent Mound, Ohio
Barium (Ba) zoning in K-feldspar Megacrysts