I am a geologist (obviously) and I am currently a PhD student at CRPG in Nancy, France where I research the collision of India with Asia using what is called isotope geochemistry. I started off attending college at the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, U.S.A. where I earned a bachelor’s degree in geology and mathematics. My senior thesis project was investigating what is called the Big Sky Orogeny in southwestern Montana. My project was part of a larger research endeavor to develop a greater understanding of the Big Sky Orogeny by characterizing the protolith, grade and timing of metamorphism, and the intensity and timing of tectonism of three rock suites. I used petrography and geochemistry to determine if mylonitic rocks were derived from adjacent non-mylonitic rocks.
For my master’s degree, I attended the University of Notre Dame researching the formation and evolution of the Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO). I conducted research and modeling of the crystallization and evolution of the LMO. I developed MATLAB scripts to successfully model and visual these processes. I also conducted research on Ocean Drilling Program samples from Leg 197 of the Detroit Seamount. Gained experience with numerous analytical techniques such as laser ablation and multi-collector ICP-MS, EPMA, SEM, XRF, XRD, and ICP-OES systems.

Some days, reading literature on the Himalayas and climate change is what takes up my time. Other days, preparing water, sediment and rock samples for analysis is what I do. Reading is pretty straightforward, but I will tell you about the process of preparing samples and then analyzing them via the Triton TIMS (Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry).

I first start with some river water samples, which I usually have the concentrations of major and trace elements for. I then calculate how much of each sample I need to analyze based on the concentration. Next, I dry the sample in an oven and let it all evaporate. Once that is complete I rehydrate the dried sample in 5mL of 2N HCl and let it dissolve real good in the oven. Next, I begin the column chemistry process (see “myimage4”). Basically, I run varying amounts of 2N, 3N and 4N HCl through the column after introducing the sample. In theory, the HCl acid strips everything but Ca out of the columns and into the waste beaker at the bottom of the column. When this step is complete I have 60 mL of sample that needs to be dried/evaporated over night.

Once the final drying is complete, I head over to the Triton lab (see “myiamge2”). Here the dried samples are prepared to go into the machine to be analyzed. This is accomplished by dissolving the sample residue in 1 microliter Nictric Acid. Next, I use a syringe to suck the sample up and then drop by drop I place it on a Re-Os filament, letting the sample heat up and evaporate onto the filament each time. Finally, the sample is heated up very hot for just a second and then loaded into the sample. The process is repeated for all of the samples as well as the standards. And finally, we load the sample wheel into the machine pictured above and let it sit over night to gain the appropriate vacuum pressures. The next day we heat the filaments up for each sample and begin the analyses, which take approximately 4-6 hours for each sample due to the high precision and sensitivity of the machine.

As my PhD research progresses, I will be doing more types of analyses such as oxygen, strontium, hydrogen and carbon isotopes. But I must get all of my Ca samples done first!