Geology Graduate Students

Alice Nelson: Hi, I graduated from Williams College in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in Geology. I spent a year split between Switzerland and Montana before coming to UVM last fall. In my first year at UVM, I took classes, learned the ways of cosmogenic sample processing, read up on Greenland Ice Sheet history - and also found time to coach young ski racers with the Mansfield Nordic Club. I had an amazing field season in Greenland this past June and I have been busy processing samples ever since. I'm looking forward to another winter in Vermont, and hopefully this year we will get some more snow! Email: ahnelson@uvm

Alice Newman: I am a first year graduate student working with Keith Klepeis on understanding the structure and deformational history of an expanse of lower crustal rocks exposed in Fiordland, New Zealand. This coming January, our team (which includes graduate students Michael Ingram, Kathryn Dianiska, myself, and Keith) will be exploring the remote fiords of Fiordland by boat in search of good outcrops from which to measure and sample. Although born and raised in Taiwan, I completed my undergraduate degree in geology in 2011 at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where I learned to enjoy cold and snowy winters. I am looking forward to our field season in New Zealand as well as enjoying Vermont through all its seasons. Email: acnewman@uvm.edu

Ana Vang: I am a second year graduate student at UVM, and I am working with Paul Bierman on the Landscape Change Project (http://www.uvm.edu/landscape/) and more specifically on the Vermont Interstate System. I spent the majority of this summer exploring and photographing all over Vermont to try and determine how both the cultural and physical landscape has changed since interstate construction. Email:avang@uvm.edu

Angel Garcia: Hola! Greetings! I come from the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. I did my undergraduate major in Environmental Science and a minor in Marine Biology at the Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico. I’m in my first year of a Master’s program. I participated in four national and international summer research internships in places like South Carolina, Arizona, Costa Rica, and Vermont. Actually, I’m part of the Vermont EPSCoR Fellowship for graduate studies. I really enjoy hiking and scuba diving across the world. I’m working with geochemistry in Yellowstone National Park. Email: angel.garcia@uvm.edu

Ashliegh Kolmer: I graduated in 2012 from State University of New York at New Paltz with a bachelor’s of science in Geology. I’m originally from Long Island, New York, and so far I like Vermont much, much more! I’m currently working on my master’s degree under my advisor Andrea Lini. Our research consists of limnology of Lake Champlain and the transition between the Champlain Sea and Lake Champlain. My hobbies are knitting, crocheting, and tea. I also love adventures, hiking, taking road trips to new places, playing with rocks, and growing a fruitful garden. Ashliegh.Kollmer@uvm.edu

Jacob Menken: I am from Westchester, New York and moved to Vermont in 2008 to attend the University of Vermont where I earned a B.A. in Geology and a B.S. in Environmental Science. I have continued my studies and research here at the University of Vermont under the guidance of Dr. John Hughes with whom I study mineralogy and x-ray crystallography; I am particularly interested in the mineral Tourmaline and its variable chemistry and structure. When not teaching or in the laboratory, I can be found filling my time by volunteering as an Emergency Medical Technician and on the ski slops. I look forward to continuing my research with Dr. Hughes and spending another two years in the Burlington community. Email: jmenken@uvm.edu

Kathryn Dianiski: Howdy, ya'll! I graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.Sc. degree in general geology. This is where I found my research interests in structural geology, tectonics and petrography. Originally hailing from Sugar Land, Texas, I have come to brave the winters of Vermont and work with Dr. Keith Klepeis. Along with my fellow graduate students, Alice Newman and Mike Ingram, our team is working in Fiordland, New Zealand to understand the complex processes of lower crustal ductile deformation. I am greatly anticipating our field season in January and working on the project. Other than school, I keep busy by taking dance classes, reading, and enjoying Vermont's scenery! Email: Kathryn.Dianiska@uvm.edu

Megan Scott: Hi, I came out to Vermont to work with Char Mehrtens on a project involving some Ordovician carbonates near Middlebury. Last spring I graduated from University of Illinois, which is located in my hometown Champaign-Urbana. Some of my favorite past geology field trips include diving to study coral reefs in Curaçao, looking at sedimentary rocks in Western Ireland, and field camp in the Wasatch-Unitas. I try to spend most of my free time outside cycling, hiking, gardening, or just enjoying nature. Email: mtscott@uvm.edu

Michael (Mike) Ingram: Hello! I am a current graduate student working under Dr. Keith Klepeis on a exciting project in Fiordland, New Zealand. My project is exploring the role of heterogeneity in the lower crust and its implications to strain partitioning and fabric development during post orogenic extension. I completed my undergrad here at UVM after gaining interest to geology from my stone mason experience. After a little time in the consulting industry I decided to pursue my masters. I grew up in the NEK (Northeast Kingdom) of Vermont where the pace of life is pleasantly relaxing. During my free time I like to golf during the summer (Jay Peak is my favorite course even though I have only played it once), play racquetball year round, and float my Polaris 500 through fresh powder in the winter. Email: Michael.Ingram@uvm.edu

Steven Gohlke: I am a second-year graduate student from Texas (Hook ‘em!) supervised by Dr. Char Mehrtens. We are working on a collaborative project called "Desert Eyes," and its goal is to determine the origin of large-scale structures located in remote regions of Egypt’s western desert. These can be studied using the latest satellite imagery, which has 1m/pixel resolution. My role in the project involves combining field data (macroscale observations) and SEM data (microscale observations) in order to develop a relative timing sequence for my study area along the Seiyal Fault near Aswan. Ultimately, this model will be applied to other areas that cannot be easily studied. My main areas of interest are sedimentology/stratigraphy, structural geology, and petroleum systems. Email: steven.gohlke@uvm.edu

Thomas Neilson: I grew up in Maine, and attended Colorado College as an undergraduate majoring in geology. After graduating in 2010 I took a year to travel and pursue whitewater kayaking on rivers across the country and throughout the world, before moving to Portland, Oregon to teaching whitewater kayaking. During this time I also worked as an Assistant Scientist teaching oceanographic science, sampling techniques and seamanship aboard sailing research vessels for an undergraduate study abroad program called SEA. My research interests include marine geology and oceanographic sciences and landscape evolution and river systems. Email: Thomas.Neilson@uvm.edu

Ph.D Candidates in Rubenstein School of Natural Resources working with Major professor: Paul Bierman (Geology)

Benjamin (Ben) DeJong: I'm a student employee with the USGS working on a doctorate here in beautiful Vermont. My research is focused around the very flat Eastern Shore of Maryland, where a complex stratigraphy awaits. This area presents many challenges to field mapping, the worst of which being the utter lack of exposure. So I spend my time in the field drilling sequences and grabbing samples for multiple analyses, one of which being cosmogenic nuclide dating, which I will begin this year in Paul Bierman's lab. We'll figure it out; it's just like the drillers say, "if it were easy, everyone would be doing this". . . Email: Benjamin.Dejong@uvm.edu

Veronica Sosa-Gonzalez: I grew up in Puerto Rico, where I got my B.S. in Environmental Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico. I came to the University of Vermont in 2010 to work on my M.S. in Natural Resources at the Rubenstein School. My M.S. thesis was on the determination of long-term erosion rates in Panama using 10Be, under the advice of Dr. Paul Bierman. I started my PhD in the Fall of 2012, working in a project to understand the connections between land management, soil erosion and sediment yield in large river basins. Field work will take place in Western China. Email: Veronica.Sosa-Gonzalez.1@uvm.edu

 

 

 

 

 

Last modified October 03 2012 11:01 AM