Workshop Participants

Martha Growdon- I am a metamorphic-structural-petrologist completing my doctoral degree in crustal development at Indiana University. My research incorporates structural geology with metamorphic petrology geochemistry thermobarometry and geochronology to understand the histories of multiply metamorphosed terranes. In Manitoba and Connecticut I study geochemical and mechanical processes due to mineral reactions during metamorphism of stable terrane interiors as well as fault reactivation along terrane boundaries. Each of these areas of study emphasizes different specialties within my broad interests and together contain rocks from greenschist to granulite facies that respectively experienced continuous and punctuated deformation during metamorphism.

Benjamin Hooks -I am currently in the final stages of my doctoral research at the University of Maine working on a project in Geodynamics. My primary research interests deal with large scale tectonics especially dealing with thermo-mechanical evolution of accretionary orogens. I am also interested in how this physical evolution corresponds to the petrology observed in the field. I hope to continue my research at a private liberal arts school and have been pursuing opportunities.

Felice Naus-Thijssen - I am Felice Naus-Thijssen and I'm a PhD student at the University of Maine. I am from the Netherlands where I studied geology at the University of Utrecht. I'm interested in how rock fabrics develop both mechanically and chemically and how these fabrics influence the rheology of rocks and the heterogeneity of the crust. Currently Im working on modeling the development of crenulation cleavage and the influence of this and other fabrics on anisotropic seismicity.

Meredith Petrie - I received my undergraduate degree from the University of California Davis where I conducted a structural geology based research project in the Sierras Pampeanas of western Argentina. Prior to pursuing a graduate degree I worked for two years as an environmental consultant for an environmental and geotechnical consulting firm based in Sacramento California. I am currently pursuing a Masters degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Maine Orono where I am investigating the mechanisms for strain localization within the deep orogenic crust. To do this I am conducting a petrological microstructural and geochemical study of a ductily deformed anorthosite in the Grenville Province Ontario Canada. My graduate work has refined my scientific interest to the structural petrological and geochronological evolution of collisional orogens. In the fall of 2009 I will begin a PhD at the University of Iowa after which I hope to pursue an academic career as a university-level research scientist and instructor.

Nancy Price- Nancy Price is a second year Ph.D. student at the University of Maine under Dr. Scott Johnson studying the structure and rheology of the Sand Hill Corner Mylonite part of the larger Norumbega Fault System in Maine in an effort to better understand the strength behavior and evolution of large-displacement crustal faults at depth. She has served as a teaching assistant for a wide range of geology-related classes as both an undergraduate and graduate student including physical geology field geology mineralogy petrology and paleobiology. Nancy is most interested in inquiry-based applied learning and is looking forward to the opportunity to interact with students as a primary instructor in a University of Maine Continuing Education course.

Eva Wadoski - Eva is a graduate student at the University of Maine and will be completing her MSc this summer. Her current research is on the chemical and microstructural evolution of boroslicate minerals in pegmatites. She is currently a teaching assistant for the department and will hold a lectureship this summer at UMaine's Hutchinson Center. This fall she will begin a PhD program studying zeolite crystallography at the University of Bern Switzerland.

Workshop Conveners

Rachel Beane - Rachel is an Associate Professor of Geology who has taught ten years at Bowdoin College and served as department chair. She has been a co-leader for Cutting Edge Early Career and Career Prep workshops. Her introductory and upper-level undergraduate courses emphasize field- and instrument-based laboratories and writing; every class includes an authentic research project. Her research interests include convergent margin processes, ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism, and microstructural studies using electron backscatter diffraction.

Britt Argow - An Assistant Professor of Geosciences at Wellesley College, Britt enjoys developing experimental pedagogical approaches in undergraduate classes at every level, and recently received an award for innovative teaching. Her research on coastal sedimentology and processes involves students of varying backgrounds and goals in field and laboratory observations, measurements and analyses. Prior to coming to Wellesley, Britt taught for three years at a two-year college, an experience that continues to inform her teaching and research goals.