Students
Lauren Woods
Lauren is a current undergraduate student at UW using lithium isotope geochemistry to trace fluid movement within subduction zones. She is using Li isotope measurements of a reaction zone from the Monviso Ophiolite (Italian Alps) combined with diffusion modeling to determine the duration of fluid transport through a shear zone. Lauren will be carrying out field work in Summer 2024 in the Monviso Ophiolite to map the distribution of fluid pathways at 80km depth in a subduction zone. This work will be supported by a Mary Gates Scholarship from the University of Washington awarded to Lauren for her excellence in research. Lauren is planning to graduate in the spring of 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in geology and chemistry. |
Leigh Tucker
Leigh Tucker is a post-baccalaureate student working towards a Bachelor of Science in Geology from UW. Her undergraduate honors research extends the work started by Marquis Richardson, using index mineral inclusions in garnet crystals from Puget Sound garnet sands to track sediment source and glacial pathways during the last glacial maximum. Leigh uses scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and machine learning techniques to compare sands from the Puget Sound and the Olympic Coast to determine if they have a shared provenance. Leigh plans to pursue a graduate degree in volcanology after completing her BS in June 2025. |
Marquis Richardson
Marquis' work consisted of investigating index mineral inclusions in garnet sands from Ruby and Rialto Beaches on the Olympic Coast (Washington). These garnet sands give Ruby Beach its namesake red color but have perplexed geologists. Marquis' results showed these sands were not derived from local rocks but must reflect glacial transport during the last glacial maximum. Marquis is interested in geomorphology and Quaternary history of the Washington Olympic Peninsula. Marquis received a Bachelors of Science in Earth and Space Sciences from UW in 2023. He is currently working as a Staff Geologist with ZipperGeo Associates in Lynnwood, WA and collaborate in garnet sand research with current student Leigh Tucker. |
Griffin Easthouse
Grif's work focuses on geochemical analysis of metasomatic rocks in the Catalina Schist. He has demonstrated new pathways of talc formation at the subduction interface using magnesium and iron isotopes. Grif is interested in the field of economic geology and the movement of critical elements in the Earth's crust leading to ore deposits. Grif is an enthusiastic and avid mineral collector and abandoned mines/mineral deposits explorer. Grif finished received a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Space Science from UW in Spring 2023 and continued his research as a post-baccalaureate researcher at UW. Griff is now a Geochemist with WSP in Denver, CO. |
Courteney Pike
Courteney Pike was a rising senior at the University of Florida and spent Summer 2022 in Seattle as part of the UNAVCO RESESS Program. She received her Bachelor of Science in Geology with a minor in Chemistry in 2023 and is now a Geologist with Freeport-McMoRan. For her summer research project, Courteney used mass balance models to explore the chemical changes that occur in the subduction interface and to gain insight into how slow slip-hosting talc rocks form. |
Teaching |
Mentoring |
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I have mentored undergraduate researchers in the context of senior honors theses, REUs, and the UNAVCO RESESS program. These projects involved hands-on geochemical, microstructural, and petrologic analysis, and guidance in scientific writing and public speaking. Students have made public presentations at national meetings and departmental and university research symposia (Boak et al., 2019; Pike et al., 2022; Easthouse et al., 2023). My mentees have gone on to be hired at governmental agencies, mining companies and environmental consulting firms and admitted into graduate programs in the geosciences.
At the University of Washington, I am mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students within the Structural Petrology Lab and the Non-Traditional Stable Isotope Lab. |
I am currently working and living on unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples that touch the shared waters of the Duwamish, Puyallup, Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot. Much of my research has been carried out on lands of the Tongva, Diné, and Piscataway peoples. I respectfully and humbly thank the Coast Salish, Tongva, Diné, and Piscataway ancestors, elders, and citizens for their ongoing stewardship of these lands and affirm their sovereignty in the face of continued dispossession and settler-colonialism