Teaching Assistant Roles
GEOL 445: High Temperature Geochemistry Lab
The role of this course is to teach students Earth and Solar system forming processes. The topics included in this class include nucleosynthesis, element partitioning, thermodynamics, phase relations, radiogenic isotopes, and geochronology. The laboratory section was concerned with applying these topics to scenarios that students will likely face as they continue with high-level scientific research, such that they might encounter during the course of their Senior Thesis.
Taught Fall 2016, enrollment 6
GEOL 322: Mineralogy Lab
The role of this course is to introduce undergraduate students to crystallography, basic mineralogy, and crystal chemistry. The laboratory section involved teaching students how to identify minerals in hand samples, understand crystal symmetry, crystal morphology, and basic mineral chemistry.
Taught Spring 2017, enrollment 21
GEOL 443: Petrology Lab
The role of this course is to teach undergraduate students the principles of igneous and metamorphic petrology. The laboratory section consisted of describing igneous and metamorphic rock and their significance. Students were required to describe the textures and minerals present in both hand samples and thin section.
Taught Spring 2018 and 2019, enrollment 17 and 12, repectively
GEOL 423: Optical Mineralogy Lab
The role of this course is to teach undergraduate students the theory and techniques used in optical mineralogy. The laboratory section consisted of identifying minerals and describing their properties in thin section, as well as grain mounts.
Taught Fall 2018 and 2019, enrollment 13 and 11, respectively
Field Camp Prep Course
This course was designed by graduate students to provide guidance to undergraduates who are preparing for field camp. The course consisted of three meetings where students were introduced to the expectations of field camp and were able to practice basic field mapping skills. My role involved teaching and co-organizing.
Taught Spring 2016/18, ~10 Students per year
Advising Roles
PhD Students
Bence Horányi – “Lithium in Rare-Metal Granites and Pegmatites” -presently a 1st year student primarily advised by Fabrice Gaillard (Institut des Sciences de la Terre d’Orléans - ISTO).
Dissertation/Thesis Committee Member
Julien Fort – “Evolution of petrophysical properties during hydrothermal metasomatism: application to the hydrothermal magmatic transition in alkali-boro-silicate systems” mid-PhD report (Institut des Sciences de la Terre d’Orléans - ISTO).
NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
Gwen Sullivan - “Modeling indium enrichment in the Mount Pleasant Ore System” presented at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2018
Senior Thesis Students
My primary role for the following students was assisting the students and their primary advisor with fieldwork and explanation of related geological concepts.
Ian Harper, Fall 2019 – “Classification of I-, S-, and A-type granitic rocks in North America”
Andrew Houston, Spring 2019 - “Magmatism at the Mt. Pleasant deposit New Brunswick, Canada”
Luke Councell, Fall 2016 and Spring 2017– “Hydrothermal Formation of Unakite in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia: A Geochemical Analysis”
Rhobeca Oliveros, Spring 2017– “Fractionation in a dike in the Tuolumne Batholith in California”
Joe Browning, Spring 2017– “Origin of Tourmaline in the Setters Formation, Maryland: Evidence from Major and Trace Element, Boron Isotope, and Rare Earth Element Characteristics”
Undergraduate Honors Projects
Gwen Sullivan, GEOL 322: Spring 2017 – “Solid Solution Minerals in North Carolina Eclogites”, My role was conducting geochemical analysis using the electron microprobe.