Austin Gion

Personal Information

Name: Austin Gion

Address: 8000 Regents Drive, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742

Email: agion@umd.edu

ORCID: 0000-0001-9124-039X

Education

2020 (estimated) Ph.D. in Geology, University of Maryland

2017 M.S. in Geology, University of Maryland

2015 B.S. in Geology, Wichita State University

2014 International Study, University of Sydney

Employment

2016-Present Research and Teaching Assistant University of Maryland, MD, USA

2015 Geotech for Independent Exploration Geologist, Wichita, KS

2013-2015 Geological Data Integrator

Research Groups

2016-Present Lab Manager, Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research,

University of Maryland, MD, USA

2014-2017 EarthByte Group, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

2014 Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts on Coastal Cities,

University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Professional Organizations

American Geophysical Union

Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada

Geologic Society of America

American Association for Petroleum Geologist

Kansas Geological Foundation

Society of Economic Geologists

International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior

Geological Society of Washington

Publications in Refereed Journals

1. Gion, A. M., Piccoli,. P.M, and Candela, P.A., 2019, Constraints on the formation of

granite-related indium deposits: Economic Geology [Accepted]

2. Gion, A. M., Piccoli, P. M., and Candela, P. A., 2018, Partitioning of indium between

ferromagnesian minerals and a silicate melt: Chemical Geology, v. 500, p. 30-45,

doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.08.020.

3. Gion, A. M., Williams, S. E., and Muller, R. D., 2017, A reconstruction of the Eurekan

Orogeny incorporating deformation constraints: Tectonics, v. 36,

doi:10.1002/2015TC004094.

Abstracts and Presented Works

1. Gion, A. M., Piccoli, P. M. Candela, P. A, 2018, An Experimental Study on the

Formation of Scandium-Rich Rocks: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting,

Washington, D.C.

2. Sullivan, G., Gion, A. M., Piccoli, P. M. Candela, P. A., and Ash R. D., 2018, Modeling

Indium Enrichment in the Mount Pleasant Ore: American Geophysical Union Fall

Meeting, Washington, D.C.

3. Gion, A. M., Candela, P. A., and Piccoli, P. M., 2017, Experimental Geochemistry and

Modeling as an Aide to Exploration: An Indium Case Study: Geological Society of

America Abstracts with Programs, Seattle, Washington, v. 49, no. 6,

doi:10.1130/abs/2017AM-306392

4. Gion, A. M., Williams, S. E., and Muller, R. D., 2017, Modelling and visualizing

distributed compressional plate deformation using GPlates2.0: The Arctic Eurekan

Orogeny: EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Austria.

5. Gion, A. M., Piccoli, P. M., and Candela, P. A., 2017, From Lab to Lode: Applications of

Experimental Geochemistry to Mineral Exploration with Reference to Indium: Student

Mineral Colloquium, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, Toronto,

Canada.

6. Gion, A. M., Piccoli, P. M., Candela, P. A., and Nance, J. R., 2016, Indium In

Ferromagnesian Minerals: An Experimental Study: Geological Society of America

Abstracts with Programs, v. 48, no. 7, doi:10.1130/abs/2016AM-286546

7. Gion, A. M., Piccoli, P. M., Candela, P. A., and Nance, J. R., 2016, Partitioning of

Indium Between Biotite and Felsic Melts: Pan-American Current Research on Fluid

Inclusions Conference, Columbia, Missouri.

8. Gion, A. M., Williams, S. E., and Muller, R. D., 2015, The Wegener Fault revisited:

Building a deforming plate model for the Eurekan Orogeny: GeoBerlin Dynamic Earth –

from Alfred Wegener to today and beyond, Berlin, Germany.

Grants

NSF REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) awarded to Philip

Piccoli and Philip Candela as an extension for NSF EAR 1348010 to study

the distribution of indium in the Mount Pleasant ore system. Amount

awarded: $6,000.

Reviewing Activities

Ore Geology Reviews

Lithos

Service

2019: Assisted with visit of 5th – 7th grade students to the Department of Geology (UMD)

2018/2019: Assisted with visit of 3rd grade class to the Department of Geology (UMD)

2018: Liaison between graduate students and faculty during new hire search

2016-2019: Volunteer at Maryland Day (the University of Maryland’s yearly open house)

Awards

PDAC Travel Award – PDAC Conference 2017

ESSIC Travel Award – Spring 2016, 2017 and Fall 2016, 2017, 2018

GSA Northeastern Travel Grant – GSA 2016 and GSA 2017

Kansas Geological Foundation Preservation Award – 2016

Teaching

GEOL 445: High Temperature Geochemistry Lab

The role of this course is to teach students Earth and Solar system forming

processes. The topics included in this class include nucleosynthesis, element partitioning,

thermodynamics, phase relations, radiogenic isotopes, and geochronology. The

laboratory section was concerned with applying these topics to scenarios that students

will likely face as they continue with high-level scientific research, such that they might

encounter during the course of their Senior Thesis.

Taught Fall 2016, enrollment 6

GEOL 322: Mineralogy Lab

The role of this course is to introduce undergraduate students to crystallography,

basic mineralogy, and crystal chemistry. The laboratory section involved teaching

students how to identify minerals in hand samples, understand crystal symmetry, crystal

morphology, and basic mineral chemistry.

Taught Spring 2017, enrollment 21

GEOL 443: Petrology Lab

The role of this course is to teach undergraduate students the principles of igneous

and metamorphic petrology. The laboratory section consisted of describing igneous and

metamorphic rock and their significance. Students were required to describe the textures

and minerals present in both hand samples and thin section.

Taught Spring 2018 and 2019, enrollment 17 and 12, respectively

GEOL 423: Optical Mineralogy Lab

The role of this course is to teach undergraduate students the theory and

techniques used in optical mineralogy. The laboratory section consisted of identifying

minerals and describing their properties in thin section, as well as grain mounts.

Taught Fall 2018, enrollment 13

Field Camp Prep Course

This course was designed by graduate students to provide guidance to

undergraduates who are preparing for field camp. The course consisted of three meetings

where students were introduced to the expectations of field camp and were able to

practice basic field mapping skills. My role involved teaching and co-organizing.

Taught Spring 2016/18/19, ~10 Students per year

Advising

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

Gwen Sullivan – “Modeling indium enrichment in the Mount Pleasant Ore System”

presented at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2018.

Senior Thesis Students

My primary role for the following students was assisting the students and their primary

advisor with fieldwork and explanation of geochemical concepts.

Andrew Houston, Spring 2019 – “Magmatism at the Mt. Pleasant deposit, New

Brunswick, Canada”

Luke Councell, Fall 2016 and Spring 2017– “Hydrothermal Formation of Unakite in

the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia: A Geochemical Analysis”

Rhobeca Oliveros, Spring 2017– “Fractionation in a dike in the Tuolumne Batholith

in California”

Joe Browning, Spring 2017– “Origin of Tourmaline in the Setters Formation,

Maryland: Evidence from Major and Trace Element, Boron Isotope, and Rare Earth

Element Characteristics”

Undergraduate Honors Projects

Gwen Sullivan, GEOL 322: Spring 2017– “Solid Solution Minerals in North Carolina

Eclogites”, My role was to oversee geochemical analysis using the electron microprobe.