A. Joshua West Professor, Earth Sciences & Environmental Studies Faculty in Residence, Cowlings and Ilium Residential College PhD (2007), Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge MPhil (1999), Department of Geography, University of Cambridge BS (1998), Geology & International Studies, Yale College |
RESEARCH GROUP
Current phd Students
Abra Atwood
www.abraatwood.com/ I am interested in understanding how major landscape perturbations affect critical zone architecture, development and processes. My thesis research has focused on 1) the effect of tectonic perturbations on soil production and development linked to geomorphic changes, deep weathering, and groundwater transit times in the Nepal Himalaya and 2) how wildfires change hydrologic patterns in small catchments in the San Gabriel Mountains in California. I use a wide variety of geochemical, remote sensing and near surface geophysical techniques and am always excited to add something more. |
Katie Grant (NASA SURP student, co-advised with Dana Chadwick, JPL)
kdennist.github My research interests center on bridging remote sensing technologies and Earth System processes. I am interested in utilizing imaging spectroscopy data paired with extensive ground sample data to identify and understand environmental contaminant distributions across landscapes. Additionally, I am interested in a range of mineral retrieval applications that combine measurements from both the visible-to-shortwave infrared (VSWIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. |
Ronmel Rugama-Montenegro (co-advised with Sergio Sañudo-Wilhemy)
I study B-vitamins in coastal oceans and the rivers that feed into them. I am interested in B-vitamins because they are required and often limiting nutrients for phytoplankton in the ocean. Studying B-vitamin availability in the ocean will give us valuable information about carbon sequestration through the biological pump. |
Adit Ghosh (co-advised with Frank Corsetti)
geoecology.wixsite.com/aditghosh I am interested in the coevolution of the biosphere and the physical planet, which I look at through the lens of sedimentology, stable isotope geochemistry, and radionuclide geochemistry. I am currently working on whether the evolution of trees in the Devonian Period (~400 Ma) altered the sensitivity of terrestrial silicate weathering and caused a drawdown in atmospheric carbon dioxide. I am also investigating erosional fluxes during the Ice Age extinction (~13,500 years ago) in Southern California to better understand the drivers of this event, particularly the hypothesized role of humans. |
Chan-Mao Chen
I come from Taiwan and am broadly interested in geomorphology and (bio)geochemistry. My PhD research focuses on the landscape evolution in the Himalaya of central Nepal, where gorgeous mountains are born under dynamic interplays of tectonics, climate, erosion, and weathering, and keep changing. I also study an extreme flooding event that occurred in this region (Melamchi Valley) in 2021 to understand hazard cascades and help rebuild local communities. |
Shreya Ramesh
Rain Blankenship
FORMER PHD Students
Paulina Pinedo-Gonzalez (PhD, 2016, co-advised with Sergio Sañudo-Wilhemy)
Chemistry R&D Scientist
www.linkedin.com/in/paulina-pinedo-gonzalez-15029811
Chemistry R&D Scientist
www.linkedin.com/in/paulina-pinedo-gonzalez-15029811
Gen Li (PhD, 2017)
Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara
https://www.geol.ucsb.edu/people/gen-li
Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara
https://www.geol.ucsb.edu/people/gen-li
Max Dahlquist (PhD, 2018)
Assistant Professor, Sewanee - The University of the South
https://www.maxwelldahlquist.com
Assistant Professor, Sewanee - The University of the South
https://www.maxwelldahlquist.com
Kirstin Washington (PhD, 2020)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Cedars-Sinai Medic al Institute
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstin-e-washington
Postdoctoral Researcher, Cedars-Sinai Medic al Institute
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstin-e-washington
Martin van den Berghe (PhD, 2021, co-advised with Ken Nealson)
Consultant
Consultant
Emily Burt (PhD, 2022)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Chapman University
Postdoctoral Researcher, Chapman University
affiliated students
Kasey Clark (PhD, University of Oxford, 2014)
Lecturer, University of Liverpool, UK
https://kathryn-clark.weebly.com
Lecturer, University of Liverpool, UK
https://kathryn-clark.weebly.com
Joyce Yager (PhD, USC, 2019)
Environmental Consultant
Environmental Consultant
Le Li (PhD, Nanjing University, China, 2020)
MAsTERS' DEGREE GRADUATES
Eric Kleinsasser (MSc, 2015)
Secondary School Teacher, La Cañada Flintridge
Secondary School Teacher, La Cañada Flintridge
Paul Quackenbush (MSc, 2018)
Environmental Lawyer
Environmental Lawyer
Jessica Stellman (MSc, 2022)
Assistant Director, STEM Education Programs, USC Joint Educational Project
Assistant Director, STEM Education Programs, USC Joint Educational Project
Postdoctoral researchers
Marie-Laure Bagard (2011-2012)
Isotope Geochemistry Lab Manager, University of Cambridge, UK
Isotope Geochemistry Lab Manager, University of Cambridge, UK
Camilo Ponton (2012-2013, co-advised with Sarah Feakins)
Assistant Professor, Western Washington University
Assistant Professor, Western Washington University
Mathieu Dellinger (2015-2016)
Chercheur CNRS, Université Savoie-Mont Blanc, France
Chercheur CNRS, Université Savoie-Mont Blanc, France