Awards

Awards: Cullen-Peck Fellow, College of Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology (2016) Distinguished Alumni Award, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Northwestern University (2016) NSF CAREER Award (2009)

Education

Education: Ph.D., Geophysics, Northwestern University, 2000 M.S., Geophysics, Northwestern University, 1997 B.S., Geophysics, Texas Tech University, 1995

Research

Research Interests: My research interests lie in understanding active deformation and failure of the Earth's lithosphere in seismic and volcanic provinces, and its impact on society. Accordingly, I focus my studies on fields that have application in advancing our understanding of natural geologic hazards. Thus far, I started several such projects with this in mind. Though these interests are broad, I plan to focus on several aspects of each. In earthquake zones, I am most interested in studying lithospheric forcing, earthquake faulting, failure mechanics, and factors controlling the recurrence of large events. In volcanic regions, my interests are in understanding magmatic source physics and rheology through interpretation of ground deformation, tomography and volcano-induced seismicity. In studying these regions I utilize a broad spectrum of geophysical tools including seismology (source and path) and geodesy (on-land and seafloor geodesy). These tools are useful over a range of frequencies; from low (to zero) frequency ground deformation to high frequency earthquake rupture activity. Additionally, through collaboration, I also strive to integrate thermal, hydrogeologic, gravity, petrologic and other tools to understand these fundamental processes.