The "Sed Heads"
Meet our group! We value fostering an inclusive, diverse, and equitable research and learning environment. Our projects may include aspects of modeling, data science, lab work, remote sensing, and field work... and sometimes many of the above are integrated. There is a path in the geosciences for anyone. If you're motivated and interested in the problems and questions we work on, we encourage you to reach out to us.
Matt Malkowski
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Assistant Professor, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellowship: U.S. Geological Survey PhD: Geological Sciences, Stanford University MS: Geological Sciences, Michigan State University BS: Environmental Geosciences, Michigan State University I am a first-generation college grad with a deep-rooted passion and insatiable curiosity for exploring the natural world. I enjoy learning about it, teaching about it, and experience it with others. Link to some photos about me |
Lab members:
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Jason Visser - Lab Manager and Research Scientist Associate MSc.Eng: Engineering Physics, Queen’s University BSc.Eng: Engineering Physics, Queen’s University About Me: I’m Canadian with a great love for technology, and a geologist by association. I’m married to a geologist and have worked for geologists and marine biologists for over 12 years. This allows me to travel the world through fieldwork/vacations with my wife, and focus on instrumentation and technology in the labs I work with. |
Postdoctoral Scholars
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Barra Peak - Postdoctoral Scholar (co-supervised with Danny Stockli) PhD: University of Colorado, Boulder BA: Harvard University About Me: Information coming |
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Megan Mueller - Postdoctoral Scholar (now NSF Postdoctoral Scholar at U of Arizona)
(co-supervised with Danny Stockli) PhD: University of Washington BS: University of Michigan About Me: My research focuses on using sedimentary rocks to reconstruct ancient subduction zones and continental collisions. I am interested in the links between tectonics, topography, paleogeography, and biogeography. I utilize a combination of field work, sedimentology, stratigraphy, geo-/thermochronology, and provenance proxies. I am a Provost's Early Career Postdoctoral Fellow in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. |
Graduate researchers
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Emily Launderville - PhD student BA: Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University About Me: I am from rural Northern Minnesota and a big fan of rock, rocks, and life on the lake. I'm happiest outside and I love accumulating passions ranging from building classic cars/motorcycles and cross country skiing to competitive sailboat racing. My research will focus on investigating the evolution of sedimentary basins and their tectonic context. |
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Jack St. Peter - PhD student BS: Biochemistry, Arizona State University About Me: I am a chemist-gone-geologist, originally from Phoenix, Arizona. My research will focus on the provenance of ophiolite-derived sediments. I love hiking, climbing, and anything to do with music, and I like to brew the occasional beer. |
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Olivia Wachob - PhD student Co-advised with Danny Stockli BS: Geology, Data Science , College of William & Mary About Me: I am a geoscience generalist passionate about the intersection of data science and geosciences, originally from Central New York. My research focuses on utilizing machine learning for detrital zircon geochronology to further understanding of provenance and zircon recycling dynamics. In my free time, I enjoy running and hiking. |
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Marcos Jimenez - MS student
Co-advised with Cornel Olariu BS: Geology, Sam Houston State University About Me: I am a first generation student from Houston, Texas. My passion for geology stems from the integrated science behind understanding the Earth. I hope to pursue a career in exploration supporting the rising demand for energy. My research will focus on stratigraphy, specifically on understanding the effects of permafrost to enhance our knowledge of Arctic delta evolution. |
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Kalen Murphy - PhD student Co-advised with Brian Horton BS: Geological Sciences, Minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Michigan State University About Me: I am originally from the Austin area, Round Rock and Cedar Park, Texas. I love football, soccer, and most sports in general. I am a huge Steelers fan and love going to the games. My research will be on the Amazon River using mixture modeling techniques and zircons to find the source of the deposits. I love anything outdoors and card games! |
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Griffin Clevenger - PhD Student BS: University of Michigan About Me: I am from a suburb North of Detroit, Michigan. I enjoy backpacking, road trips, swimming in idyllic hidden places, and doing essentially anything active or outside. My research will use concepts in sedimentology, stratigraphy, and geochemistry to reconstruct past depositional and environmental conditions. I'm a sucker for any and all music from the 60s to the 80s. |
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Jacqueline (Jackie) Epperson - PhD Student BS: Geological Sciences, Illinois State University MS: Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin About Me: I am from rural central Illinois, and am passionate about everything geology! I take every opportunity to get out and explore, in the field, in the lab, and in life. My research is focused on diving deeper into the characteristics of volcanic arc zircon that source sedimentary basins. I am also a motorcycle enthusiast. |
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Fernando Rey - PhD Candidate (expected Summer 2025) BS: Geological Sciences, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina MS: Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin About Me: I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina. My research focus is the interaction of sedimentological processes, climate, and tectonics at different scales and time frames. I am a huge fan of world history and geography, and I am a committed runner. |
Previous graduate researchers
Mingang Hao - PhD student (CUGB, visiting student at UT-Austin, completed 2024): Supervised with Professor Chengshan Wang (CUGB)
Project: Sedimentology, provenance, and stratigraphic architectural of the Xigaze Forearc Basin: Linking forearc basin response to early uplift in Tibet
Project: Sedimentology, provenance, and stratigraphic architectural of the Xigaze Forearc Basin: Linking forearc basin response to early uplift in Tibet
Nick Gross-Almonte - MS student (Stanford, completed 2023): Co-advised with Steve Graham
Project: Detrital zircon provenance links between outcrop and subsurface, Rocas Verdes and Magallanes-Austral basins, Patagonia
Project: Detrital zircon provenance links between outcrop and subsurface, Rocas Verdes and Magallanes-Austral basins, Patagonia
Colin White - MS student (Stanford, completed 2020): Co-advised with Steve Graham
Project: Sedimentology and Provenance of the Norton Basin, Offshore Alaska: Insight into the Paleogene Evolution of the Paleo-Yukon Drainage System
Project: Sedimentology and Provenance of the Norton Basin, Offshore Alaska: Insight into the Paleogene Evolution of the Paleo-Yukon Drainage System
Undergraduate researchers
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Spencer Collins BS student: UT-Austin About Me: I am from Los Angeles, California. Excited about geology and anything that brings you to a nice outcrop. I love cooking, board games, and movies with rubber suit monsters. My research involves using well-log and seismic reflection data map permafrost in the subsurface near the Colville Delta, North Slope of Alaska. Project: Subsurface mapping of permafrost and permafrost change along the North Slope of Alaska |
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Sebastian Lopez BS (University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley) 2024 RTX Summer Internship at UT-Austin About me: Details coming Project: Building an Early Cretaceous chemostratigraphic framework in southern Patagonia to assess basin integration across the emerging South Atlantic Ocean |
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Julia Daniel (any pronouns) BS (Central Michigan University) 2023 RTX Summer Internship at UT-Austin About me: I am from southeast Michigan, and visiting the great lakes in my childhood inspired my curiosity in geology and the environment. Outside my studies, I enjoy hiking, crocheting, playing instruments, and playing games with friends. Project: Linking Early Cretaceous ocean basin records in the southern Patagonian Andes |
Previous Undergraduate Researchers
Isabel Held (Scripps College): Sedimentological characterization of the Colville Delta region.
Esha Krishnan (UT-Austin): Decoupling weathering and provenance changes in sedimentary geochemical records
Raymond Luong (UT-Austin - Champions of Diversity program): Sediment routing and sand mining sustainability in San Francisco Bay, CA
Catalin Hernandez (U of Houston - RTX program): Global compilation of supra-subduction zone ophiolites
Anurag Kulkarni (UT-Austin): Mudstone geochemistry in the Great Valley Group, California
Bennie Hesser (Stanford - SESUR program): Geochemical Signals of Early Mountain Building in the Southern Patagonian Andes
Jasmine Lizardo (Stanford) - SESUR program): Carbon isotope chemostratigraphy of the Rocas Verdes Basin
Jason Swanepoel (Stanford - SESUR program): Provenance Trends and Sedimentation Rates of the Rocas Verdes Basin, Patagonia
Mariah Jenkins (Pomona-Pitzer - SURGE program): Tracing Ocean Anoxia in the Early Cretaceous Rocas Verdes Basin, Southern Patagonia
Anthony Edgington (UT-Austin - SURGE program): Source to Sink Evolution of the Oligocene–Pliocene Alaskan Interior - Bering Sea Sediment Routing System
Isabel Held (Scripps College): Sedimentological characterization of the Colville Delta region.
Esha Krishnan (UT-Austin): Decoupling weathering and provenance changes in sedimentary geochemical records
Raymond Luong (UT-Austin - Champions of Diversity program): Sediment routing and sand mining sustainability in San Francisco Bay, CA
Catalin Hernandez (U of Houston - RTX program): Global compilation of supra-subduction zone ophiolites
Anurag Kulkarni (UT-Austin): Mudstone geochemistry in the Great Valley Group, California
Bennie Hesser (Stanford - SESUR program): Geochemical Signals of Early Mountain Building in the Southern Patagonian Andes
Jasmine Lizardo (Stanford) - SESUR program): Carbon isotope chemostratigraphy of the Rocas Verdes Basin
Jason Swanepoel (Stanford - SESUR program): Provenance Trends and Sedimentation Rates of the Rocas Verdes Basin, Patagonia
Mariah Jenkins (Pomona-Pitzer - SURGE program): Tracing Ocean Anoxia in the Early Cretaceous Rocas Verdes Basin, Southern Patagonia
Anthony Edgington (UT-Austin - SURGE program): Source to Sink Evolution of the Oligocene–Pliocene Alaskan Interior - Bering Sea Sediment Routing System