• Atmospheric Acoustics
• Geoscience Instrumentation
• Innovative Field/Analysis Methods

Education

• Ph.D. Geophysics
  Boise State University, 2018
  Dissertation: Pressure Waves and Tephra Dispersal from Volcanic Explosions: Models, Observations, and Instrumentation
• M.S. Geophysics
  New Mexico Tech, 2013
  Thesis: Mapping Thunder Sources by Inverting Acoustic and Electromagnetic Observations
• B.S. Geology and Mathematics
  University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, 2009
  Thesis: Topographic Effects on Seismic Waves at Santiaguito Volcano, Guatemala

Opportunities for Students

Interested in learning more about instrumentation and data collection? Check out my course “Instrumentation and Electronics in Geoscience” (GEOPH 536, spring).

I have various undergraduate opportunities focused on computational analysis of infrasound data. Please get in touch if you’re interested in programming (especially Python, which is a big focus of our community) and eager to use infrasound/acoustics to understand Earth processes!

Instrumentation Development

The Gem Infrasound Logger is a self-contained infrasound sensor-logger designed with the objectives of low cost, low power consumption, and ease of transport, concealment, and use. It is particularly well-suited for high-risk settings (aerial platforms, hazardous sites, high-traffic areas) and deployment en masse or in unconventional geometries due to its low cost, light weight, and fast cable-free installation.

The following resources describe the development, properties, and applications of the Gem:

Other recent instrumentation projects include work on a soil CO2 sensor, a precise GNSS system for monitoring glacier motion, and a combined GPS/accelerometer system for monitoring cattle behavior.

Other Research

Recent research topics include fire infrasound, whitewater acoustics, dense-array infrasound analysis of aftershocks of the 2020-03-31 Central Idaho earthquake, instrumentation development for monitoring glacier flow, cattle behavior, and snow avalanches, nonlinear infrasound propagation from volcanic explosions, tephra dispersal from the 2015-03-03 lava fountain at Villarrica (Chile), and infrasound analysis of the 2012-07-14 vulcanian eruption at Tungurahua (Ecuador).

Email: [email protected]
Office: ERB 3147