Tell us something about where you grew up and your experiences.

I grew up in Mayfield, Ohio, just south of Cleveland. I’ve always been very interested in the Earth’s history, but it originally started with paleontology and has grown into what it is today. I loved growing up in the vicinity of an excellent museum, and one of my favorite specimens at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History is their skeleton of the temnospondyl amphibian Eryops megacephalus.

What do you like about the EEPS Dept?

One of the things that has stood out to me since I’ve become an EEPS major is the passion that each professor here has for their work, and the diversity of research being investigated in such a small department.

Tell us about your senior research thesis.

My senior thesis is centered on investigating the kinetics of the reduction of the iron oxide hematite during the process of metamorphism. I am specifically attempting to measure the rate at which hematite transforms into the more reduced oxide magnetite. Having a better understanding of the rate of this reaction can help us to predict how fast an un-metamorphosed iron formation might transform under a range of metamorphic conditions.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In my spare time I enjoy maintaining my various collections, such as vinyl records and CDs, figurines from the Alien films, and of course fossils, rocks, and bones.

What are you enthused about for your future?

It is my goal to eventually become a professor and researcher in the future. I have enjoyed having opportunities to tutor friends and give presentations over the years and am very enthusiastic to continue having the opportunity to educate others.