SEM image of a rolled garnet in a mica schist.
My research interests center around petrographic and scanning electron microscope analyses of igneous and metamorphic assemblages as well as the general geology of the Tufts Medford campus area. Of particular interest are the timing of metamorphic crystallization to intrusion and structural deformation as revealed by textural and chemical signatures, the interaction of plutons with their wall rocks, and pyrite framboid development in Recent foramnifora and late Precambrian sedimentary rocks.
Recent student research projects have involved SEM studies of Egyptian pottery, inclusion-wall rock interactions in skarns, varve deposits, saltwater marsh diatoms, solution-redeposition in galena, possible trace fossils in Precambrian sediments, and the history of the Blue Hills Porphyry/ Pondville Conglomerate contact.
I am also working on developing new teaching methods including demonstrations for recrystallization, volcanic eruptions, structural deformation, and a semester-long integrated approach for teaching Historical Geology/Paleontology.
