About Derek

I am a seismologist and geophysicist interested in interdisciplinary collaborations with other Earth scientists to understand deep Earth structures and their effects on past and present tectonics and landscapes. I love teaching and working with students of all levels and backgrounds, and appreciate the land grant ethos of CSU and our drive to optimize our public good.

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Interests

  • I am interested in using seismology, combined with mineral physics and geodynamical modeling, to understand the mantle’s physical properties, flow, and interaction with the crust. Topics of interest to me are hotspots, mantle plumes, and convective rolls; lithospheric strength boundaries and their role in strain partitioning; the mantle’s role in past and present western U.S. tectonics and deformation; and the effect of compositional variations on the dynamical origin of mantle structure.

Education

Ph.D. , Geological Sciences - Unversity of Oregon
Eugene, OR, 2000

B.S., Mathematics - Unversity of Oregon
Eugene, OR, 1992

B.A., Physics - Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo, MI, 1991

Awards, Honors, Grants

  • Examining Continental Assembly Through New Methods of Measuring Seismic Velocity Anisotropy, 2015
  • Colorado State University - Aarhus University Collaboration: Lithosphere-asthenosphere dynamics – linking petrology and seismology, 2015
  • REU Supplement, Collaborative Research: The Mackenzie Mountains--Deformation and Structure of Active Intraplate Orogenesis from Plate Boundary to Craton, 2015
  • Collaborative Research: The Mackenzie Mountains--Deformation and Structure of Active Intraplate Orogenesis from Plate Boundary to Craton, 2015
  • Collaborative Research: The Effects of Water and Lithology on the Strength of the North American Lithosphere, 2015
  • Tilt Teaching Fellow, 2014
  • Geophysical Journal International Outstanding Reviewer, 2012

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