About Me

I recently joined the Department of Math, Physics, and Geology at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Stay tuned for updates about my research and teaching program at CBU,  as well as opporunities for student projects and collaboration! Coming Soon!


I am a holistic sedimentologist who tackles a diverse suite of projects that focus on utilizing biochemical sedimentary rocks as paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic archives, focusing on periods of regional and global instability (biotic extinctions, climate fluctuations, major tectonic reorganizations) during the Paleozoic. Increasing our understanding of these time periods allows us to form a more complete understanding of how the Earth system operates, with implications for the coupled evolution of the atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere in the geologic past, present, and future! Within this context, my work focuses on deciphering unique and poorly understood non-actualistic sedimentary systems, investigating the robustness of geochemical proxies, and building sedimentologic and geochemical frameworks for use in resource exploration. Through my research and actions in the geoscience community, I actively work to promote a more equitable and diverse geosciences. 

I recently completed an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship at Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada) working with Dr. Peir Pufahl on the paleoceanographic significance of Paleozoic ironstones and other metalliferous sediments in understanding the evolution of early Paleozoic water masses and iron biogeochemical cycling.  Check out our recent paper in Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters on the source of Fe in Paleozoic ironstone and the implications for oxygenation of the Paleozoic oceans as well as our paper in Earth-Science Reviews on the Clinton ironstone. Stay tuned for more publications on this topic soon!

I am currently a Mitacs Accelerate Postdoctoral Fellow working with Queen's University and Nutrien Ltd. to investigate the origin of a Paleozoic potash giant and its record of secular changes in Phanerozoic seawater chemistry and the Phanerozoic evolution of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. For more information please see my Research Interests page.

I completed my PhD in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln working under the supervision of Dr. Tracy Frank. My dissertation research focused on the carbonate and bioelemental sedimentology, stratigraphy, and diagenesis of the Phosphoria Rock Complex in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. More information can be found here.

I earned my Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering at Queen's University. For my master's thesis, completed under the supervision of Dr. Noel James and Dr. Bob Dalrymple, I investigated the origin of high-energy clastic carbonates in the Mississippian of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Front Ranges and in Ordovician rocks of the northern Appalachian Basin. I also completed a bachelor's thesis under the supervision of Dr. Kurt Kyser (Queen's University) and Dr. Stewart Hamilton (Ontario Geological Survey) investigating the hydrogeology (with a strong GIS component), aqueous geochemistry, and isotope geochemistry of the shallow bedrock aquifer of the Niagara Peninsula. On top of this, I have published research on mobile mud diapirs in Carboniferous delta-front deposits in western Ireland.

I gained petroleum industry experience through internships with Imperial Oil and Shell Canada where I worked on various regional hydrocarbon and geohazard assessments. I was chosen as the Queen’s SIFT (Student Industry Field Trip) representative by the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists in 2011 and represented the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on their AAPG Imperial Barrel Award team in 2016, which won the US Midcontinent Section and participated in the international finals. I've also had the opportunity to travel around the world for field courses and research to localities that include the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming, Bermuda, the Shannon Basin of Ireland, the Danish Basin of Denmark, and more.

For more information check out my CV, Research Interests, and Publications.