I am a first-year Graduate student at Rice University in the Earth, Environment, and Planetary Sciences department. I am a member of the Rice Rock Deformation group led by Dr. Melodie French.
Research Statement
The strength of crustal rocks determines our risk of the most devastating natural disasters (tsunamis and earthquakes). Strength can be thought of as the capacity to handle stress before failure. The strength of rocks in the crust is determined by their deformation history as well as their physical and chemical composition. Rock strength is comparable to humans’ capacity to handle stress, which is determined by our experiences and biochemical makeup. My research studies micro to mesoscale feedbacks between deformation, metamorphism, and diagenesis of shallow subduction zones and continent-continent collisions. I aim to analyze physical and chemical changes of sediment during diagenesis and low-temperature metamorphic reaction. Collectively using these factors to understand fault strength and rheologic behavior.
