My research focuses on answering questions about the study of active faults and folds, earthquakes and associated hazards, earthquake recurrence, estimating paleo-earthquake magnitude by relating observed deformation and earthquake timing between paleoseismic sites along a fault, and earthquake triggering. I am currently working on projects in Oregon, Oklahoma, and California. In the Pacific Northwest, I am interested in broad patterns of deformation in the upper plate, and whether recurrence intervals for forearc faults in the are intrinsically linked with the long recurrence of Cascadia subduction zone events. I am also currently working with students, the USGS and DOGAMI using airborne lidar data to map faults along the crest of the central Cascades and the Strawberry Mountains, OR. Our goal is to improve our understanding of the timing and magnitude of past surface rupturing earthquakes on these faults and to generate the first seismic source characterization of these previously unmapped structures. I am also a member of the Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center (cascadiaquakes.org) and contributing to development of the Community Fault Model.

I attended Occidental College for my undergraduate degree, and Central Washington University for my Master’s degree. I worked for a geological consulting firm, William Lettis & Associates., Inc. before returning to school to obtain my PhD with Dr. Ray Weldon at University of Oregon. I have worked both nationally and internationally on seismic source characterizations and paleoseismic investigations on Quaternary active faults. I have conducted field reconnaissance and mapping after surface rupturing earthquakes following the 2011 Mw 6.6 Iwaki earthquake, Japan, 2010 Mw 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake, Mexico, and the 1999 Mw 7.6 Chi Chi, Taiwan earthquake.