Research

My research interests center around metamorphic petrology, the study of the chemistry, mineralogy and textures of rocks that have been changed by the combined forces of temperature, pressure, chemically-active fluids, and time.  To approach problems related to petrology, I apply a variety of techniques, including thin-section petrography, field-mapping and structural measurements, thermodynamic modeling and construction of pseudosections, stable and/or radiogenic isotopic measurements, and chemical analysis of major-, minor-, and trace-element concentrations of metamorphic mineral phases.  I use these methods to solve problems related to the evolution of regional metamorphic terranes from the Alps to the Appalachians, and to help understand what small-scale features such as mineral zoning and metamorphic fluid pathways are able to tell us about large-scale tectonic processes.