Student Awards

I am studying past mountain glacier change in Alaska and Colorado for my dissertation. Last summer, I had a three-week field season in Alaska, where our team collected over 90 rock samples for dating that will help constrain glacier history in the western Alaska Range. I am very thankful to have received departmental support from the Pegrum and Duane Champion funds for this work, without which much of my field studies could not have taken place.

I am studying dike to vent transitions within basaltic volcanoes. Last summer I had the wonderful opportunity to conduct two weeks of fieldwork on the western slope of Mt. Taylor in New Mexico. During my trip, my field assistant (Sal Bianco, a UB geology undergraduate) and I took detailed descriptions and collected samples along the length of an exposed basaltic dike, with the goal of identifying magma flow lineations in order to better understand the factors that control magma flow within a shallow basaltic plumbing system. I am very thankful for the funds received from the Duane Champion fund with which I was able to accomplish my work.

Last summer I was able to do field work in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. I got to learn about the glacial history of the area and collect samples from glacial erratics. Thanks to the support I received from the Duane Champion Award, I had the opportunity to gain valuable experience in the field and get involved further in research.