The focus of my research is igneous and metamorphic petrology, particularly in the study of Precambrian rocks associated with the Grenville Orogeny. As an undergraduate, I worked with Richard P. Tollo, PhD, at the George Washington University. I was involved with a USGS geologic mapping project in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. During my time with the mapping project, I primarily mapped the Big Meadows 7.5-minute quadrangle paying particular attention to the igneous and metamorphic rocks. Of particular interest to that project was mapping of an interesting rock called charnockite. Charnockite is a granite like rock that unlike other granites contains abundant pyroxene as its primary mafic mineral.

As a graduate student at Washington University, I am working on a suite of rocks collected by Robert F. Dymek, PhD, from the La Croche Complex in Quebec, Canada. I am presently studying the petrographic relationships of the mineralogy and preparing samples for X-ray flourescence (XRF) which will tell us about the chemistry of the rocks. Robert Buchwaldt, PhD, is also working with these rocks to obtain istopic dates of their formation.

Additional interests include the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and its application to the Earth Sciences. GIS is a powerful imaging and database software that allows scientists and others to look at data and maps in unique ways. Application of this software to geologic mapping, specifically petrologic studies, will help advance the understanding and enhance the availability of new investigations.