I obtained my B.A. from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2004 with a major in geology and my M.Sc. in geological sciences from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 2007. Currently, I am entering my 5th year at UW pursuing a Ph.D. in Geology.
I am interested in how climate change impacts depositional processes in rivers and floodplains on time scales greater than 10,000 years. My dissertation research focuses on how rivers in northwest Wyoming and western Colorado responded to an abrupt global warming event that occurred approximately 55 million years ago called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.
What drew me to UW for graduate education was the faculty. When I visited as a prospective Ph.D. student, I felt there was a strong collaborative and interdisciplinary atmosphere here filled with enthusiastic researchers.
I am a 5th year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geology and Geophysics. Currently, I am pursuing various postdoctoral research positions, but eventually, hope to obtain a professorship at a research university.
Make sure to visit! Sit in on classes, and talk to current and former graduate students. Chat with additional faculty than just your prospective advisor. Graduate school is a big commitment and getting as much information as possible before making the decision is extremely important.