Mylonitic, migmatitic Hauser Lake gneiss, Priest River complex, ID
Graduate (M.S.) Students
Our group works on problems in metamorphic geology and related "hard rock" topics. Our current research is centered on the metamorphic geology of the Packsaddle Schist and its relationship with the intrusive Town Mountain Granite, both of which are exposed in the Llano uplift of central Texas. Graduate research involves some combination of field work, petrography, geochemical analysis, thermodynamic research, geochronology, and/or other types of analysis, depending on available projects, your interests, and funding. The Department of Geology may have teaching assistantships available, which provide a stipend and tuition assistance.
Interested in graduate research in metamorphic geology, or related "hard rock" topics? Contact me!
Marykathryn Campos
M.S. Candidate
Thesis: Petrology of rhyolites in Trans-Pecos Texas.
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Tyler McLemore
M.S. Candidate
Project: HXRF bulk geochemical analysis of the Packsaddle Schist and the Town Mountain Granite, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Llano uplift, central Texas.
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Travis Galle
M.S. 2020
Thesis: Petrology of the gradational intrusive contact between the Packsaddle Schist and the Town Mountain Granite, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Llano uplift, central Texas.
Travis currently works for Stratagraph.
Undergraduate Students
Want to get more involved in geology? Undergraduate research experiences can be fun, challenging, and exciting! No matter your future plans, undergraduate research will benefit you; both employers and graduate schools prefer students who have shown initiative and who know how to develop a research project, work in the field, collect samples and data, work with analytical equipment, analyze data, and communicate results.
You can get involved in undergraduate research in any format that works for you... sign up for 1-3 credits of GEOL 4176 Geoscience Research (required if you're in the Geosciences Concentration), apply for the College of Sciences and Mathematics' Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (S.U.R.E.), participate in a research trip or lab work, or assist a graduate student with their research.
Your undergraduate research experience may include field work, petrography, geochemical analysis, and/or other types of analysis depending on project availability and your interests. Ideally, you will have the opportunity to present your work at a spring conference, such as the South-Central Geological Society of America section meeting, the Texas Academy of Science annual meeting, or SFA's Undergraduate Research Conference.
When should you get started? Any time is a great time to get involved! I encourage you to start sooner rather than later; an ideal timeline would have you starting research in the spring, submitting an abstract in the fall, and presenting your work at a research conference the following spring.
How should you get started? Talk with faculty whose field of expertise is interesting to you or with whom you would enjoy working to find out what kinds of projects and options they have available for you. Give some thought to how much time you would like to commit to the research, and when you would be ready to start.
Interested in an undergraduate research experience in "hard rock" geology topics? Get in touch!
Haylee Vike
B.S. 2020
2021-2022. Testing hXRF analysis of fine- to coarse-grained crystalline rocks.
Vike and Stevens, 2022, Comparison of Analytical Methods for HXRF
Geochemistry of the Packsaddle Schist and Town Mountain Granite, Llano
Uplift, Texas. South-Central Geological Society of America Section Meeting.
Haylee is currently an undergraduate student at SFA.
Joe Amell
B.S. 2020
Summer 2019. Field assistant to grad student Travis Galle at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Llano uplift, central Texas. Field week.
Joe is currently a graduate student at SFA.
Tyler McLemore
B.S. 2019
Spring 2019. Controls on the orientation of xenoliths in the Town Mountain Granite, The Slab, Llano uplift, Kingsland Texas. Field weekend and GEOL 4175 Special Problems.
Tyler is currently a graduate student at SFA.
Ethan Wagner
B.S. 2022
2020-2021. HXRF bulk geochemical analysis of xenoliths at The Slab, Llano uplift, Kingsland, Texas. Field weekend and GEOL 4175 Special Problems.
Wagner and Stevens, 2021, HXRF analysis of metamorphic xenoliths and a
bulk compositional comparison of metamorphic units in the Llano uplift,
Texas. South-Central Geological Society of America Section Meeting.
Ethan will be starting a graduate program in volcanology at Missouri State in Fall 2022.
Tyler West
B.S. 2019
Spring 2019. Controls on the orientation of xenoliths in the Town Mountain Granite, The Slab, Llano uplift, Kingsland Texas. Field weekend.
Tyler is currently a graduate student at SFA.
Luke Whitenburg
B.S. 2021
Spring 2020. HXRF bulk geochemical analysis of xenoliths and the Town Mountain Granite at The Slab, Llano uplift, Kingsland, Texas. Field weekend.
Luke is currently a graduate student at SFA.