Students

Prospective Students

Our research group may be looking for graduate students in Fall 2025 to work on the tectonic evolution of the Northwest Cascades. Please reach out via email if you are interested.

Current Students

• Jeni Chan (M.S.): Jeni received her B.S. from WWU and is combining structural geology and geochronology to understand the formation of inverted metamorphic gradients during subduction initiation.

• Austin Keirs (M.S.): Austin received his B.S. from Slippy Rock University and is using metamorphic petrology to determine the relative contributions of exhumation and subduction refrigeration to preserve inverted metamorphic gradients formed during subduction initiation.

• Janie Hacker (B.S.): Janie is a current WWU undergraduate student using Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) to test models for the tectonic history of the San Juan Islands and Northwest Cascades thrust system.

• Kalieh Singleton (M.S.): Kalieh is using geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology to determine the age and correlation of ophiolite units within the Northwest Cascades Thrust System.

Graduated Students

• Nick Cunetta (Graduated, M.S., 2024): Timing of subduction initiation and deformation history of amphibolite and blueschist in the Easton metamorphic suite, Northwest Cascades, Washington, WWU Graduate School Collection.

• Emily Gates (Graduated, M.S., 2024): Strain localization during subduction and accretion of regional blueschist facies units in the Easton metamorphic suite, NW Cascades Washington, WWU Graduate School Collection.

• Katie Lang (Graduated, M.S., 2023): U-Pb Zircon geochronology and structure of regional blueschist units in the Easton metamorphic suite, Northwest Cascades, WA, WWU Graduate School Collection.

• Tomas Urbina (Graduated, B.S., 2022): Regional correlations of subduction zone units in the northwest Cascades.

• Peter Baker (Graduated, M.S., 2020): Timing and conditions of metamorphism in the Cascades Crystalline Core from garnet Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd geochronology, WWU Graduate School Collection, 927, https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/927.

• Andra Nordin (Graduated, B.S., 2019): Timing of oblique motion of the La Puntilla -- La Falda shear zone in northwest Argentina from monazite U-Pb geochronology.

• Wes Johns (Graduated, B.S., 2018): Timing and kinematics of intra-arc deformation in the middle crust of the Famatina arc.

• Andy Tholt (Graduated, M.S., 2018): Metamorphic evolution of the Sierra de Maz: Implications for the timing of terrane accretion on the wstern margin of Gondwana, WWU Graduate School Collection, 713, https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/713.

• Jeremy Cordova (Graduated, M.S., 2017): Initiation and evolution of subduction: T-t-D history of the Easton metamorphic suite, northwest Washington state, WWU Graduate School Collection, 626, https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/626.

• Shania Myers (Graduated, B.S., 2017): Lawsonite trace element geochemsitry during retrograde metamorphism