About MeI am a quantitative Earth scientist whose research focuses on understanding the responses of physical and ecological systems to natural and human-driven perturbations. Currently, I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Watershed Sciences at Utah State University.
My dissertation, conducted at The University of Texas and completed in 2016, focused on understanding how climate and chemical weathering processes can influence the erosion of mountain rivers (published in the journals Nature and Geology). My research at Utah State is focused on the wide-ranging impacts after wildfire, with a specific interest in the sediment inputs to rivers, water resource infrastructure, and aquatic ecosystems. This research includes a recent study about how narrow perspectives on wildfire underestimate future risks to long-term water security in the American West (published in Earth’s Future). Recognizing the need to quantify these risks, I am also working with Dr. Patrick Belmont (USU) and Dr. Jon Czuba (Virginia Tech) to develop a modeling framework capable of characterizing post-wildfire sediment dynamics and estimating the vulnerability of water resource infrastructure to future wildfires. Check out some recent press on this research at: Utah Public Radio NPR’s Mountain West News Bureau The Sacramento Bee Phys.org Research interests: fluvial geomorphology, climatic controls on landscape evolution, bedrock river erosion, weathering processes, post-wildfire sediment dynamics, wildfire & water security, population ecology modeling, and resource management and restoration. Active Collaborations: Dr. Patrick Belmont (USU), Dr. Jon Czuba (Virginia Tech), Dr. Phaedra Budy (USGS/USU), Dr. Larissa Yocom (USU), Dr. Peter Wilcock (USU), Dr. Lee MacDonald (CSU). |
Hiking along Barton Creek in central Texas.
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