ABOUT ME

I am an igneous petrologist by training and an instructor of a great diversity of courses at Georgia State University and at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. I strive to give students what they need for efficient learning. I try to create a fertile environment, free of criticism, where students teach themselves, each other, and me. To me teaching is about presenting the current state of the subject, introducing theorems and paradigms (carefully for the faint of heart), and empirical concepts that can be integrated into their own life experiences.  Critical thinking and encouraging questions on how this knowledge is integrated into real life situations are crucial to the learning processes.

My research focus

My research in the origin and evolution of the Continental Crust. I use individual phase geochemistry techniques to explore the PT-X conditions at the time of crystallization. I have currently active projects in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia and Montana.

MY RESEARCH

AREAS OF EXPERTISE AND INTEREST

PHOTOGRAPHY AND ALL FORMS OF ART

“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”  -Ansel Adams

HIKING AND MOUNTAINEERING

Hobbies and other interests

CYCLING

I can not get enough cycling in the week. It has become an obsession.

This is intertwined with my desire to study volcanic regions with difficult access.

Equality and inclusion in the Geosciences

Making the geosciences a discipline that is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just is core to my research and teaching goals as an educator. I see this as a learning journey where I seek to continue to grow my own understanding and skills to support all students to achieve their full potential. We cannot continue to miss the extraordinary untapped talent that URM students bring to the geosciences. We must do better and doing better requires us to all work towards transformative change in our departments and campuses.

inclusion and equity in academic settings

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INFORMATION

Pre-field work sessions  focused on students  learning about the socio-political context of the field camp area, provides space, especially for URM students, to express how the teaching team (faculty and TAs) and other students can work together to ensure an environment that feels safe and inclusive.

MENTORSHIP

offer URM students comprehensive guidance and academic socialization, which has proven to be effective as an integrative tool

DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, JUSTICE

Dafina-Lazarus Stewart, a leading expert in higher education, helped me see where the truly transformative solutions might lie:

Diversity asks, “Who’s in the room?” Equity responds: “Who is trying to get in the room but can’t? Whose presence in the room is under constant threat of erasure?”

Inclusion asks, “Has everyone’s ideas been heard?” Justice responds, “Whose ideas won’t be taken as seriously because they aren’t in the majority?”

Diversity asks, “How many more of [pick any minoritized identity] group do we have this year than last?” Equity responds, “What conditions have we created that maintain certain groups as the perpetual majority here?”

Inclusion asks, “Is this environment safe for everyone to feel like they belong?” Justice challenges, “Whose safety is being sacrificed and minimized to allow others to be comfortable maintaining dehumanizing views?

BUILD A COMMUNITY

Discussions on how other students (and faculty) that have experienced discriminatory remarks in field experiences from local residents provide can serve as resources for students on how to cope with these situations.  This includes what white and non-LGBTQ students can do to be more supportive of the challenges faced by their POC and LGBTQ peers and how to show up as allies to their classmates.

TEXBOOKS

I WILL LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU

CONTACT ME

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