Research Areas

Heat flow from the Earth's deep interior to its surface drives mantle convection and plate tectonics, thereby continually reshaping the Earth's surface and also resulting in volcanic activity. Although, I am interested in a variety of geological processes, my main research focus is about magmatic and volcanic processes. Members of my research group work on a range of problems. The overarching goal is to better understand processes ranging from the micro-scale, such as bubble nucleation in magmas, to the field scale, such as magma flow and accumulation leading to the deformation and eruption of volcanoes. We analyze various observational data, ranging from vesicles in pyroclasts to geodetic measurements. We conceive and execute laboratory experiments that help us understand a variety of physical processes. Ultimately, we integrate observations and experiments through a variety of numerical modeling techniques to gain further insight and to make predictions.