Current Position:
Geologist I, August 2024 - Present
Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky
Role: Integrating LiDAR, Python, and field methods to build a database of Kentucky's sinkholes and natural ponds while monitoring and measuring their occurrences and geomorphological changes through time.
Education & Certification:
M.S. in Geology, 2024
Central Washington University, Department of Geological Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Hannah Shamloo, Committee: S. DeBari, K. Walowski, C. Mattinson
B.S. in Geology, 2022
Mississippi State University, Department of Geosciences
Minor: Mathematics
Thesis: Effect of Folds on Thrust Fault Zones Connectivity and Permeability
Research Advisor: Dr. Kelsey Crane
ASBOG FG – passed October 2021, eligible for GIT certification
Research Experience:
Graduate Research Assistant, 2022 – 2024
Department of Geological Sciences, Central Washington University
Field analysis, chemical analysis, and python modeling to provide timescales on magma storage processes and duration of the eruption initiation period of the Sulphur Creek lavas at Koma Kulshan, WA.
Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2019 – 2022
Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University
Effects of Fractures in Fold-Related Thrust Fault Zones
Using collected field images and measurements to create 3D-models using Agisoft Metashape. Exported models to ArcGIS Map and MOVE to, respectively, create line density maps and run a Density Fracture Network (DFN) to provide lateral and vertical analysis of changes in fracture intensity, connectivity, and permeability from the hanging wall to the footwall in thrust fault zones.
Publications:
Articles
Cunningham, D., and Zhu, J. (in prep). Harnessing Multiphase Lidar to Improve Evaluation of Sinkhole Occurrence Rates.
Cunningham, D., Shamloo, H., DeBari, S., and Walowski, K. (ready for submisson). Timescales of Magma Storage and Eruption Initiation for the Most Recent Lava Flow at Mount Baker (Koma Kulshan), WA. To be submitted in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology.
Swallom, M., Dortch, J., Choffel, M., Cunningham, D., & Bibbins, E. (2025). A watershed-scale approach to 2D flood modeling.
Crane, K., Bohanon, A., Rich, J., McCullough, L., & Cunningham, D. (2022). Flash flooding on Mars could be linked to large fault slip events. The Leading Edge, 41(10), 709-717.
Conference Abstracts
Cunningham, D., and Zhu, J. (submitted 2025). Harnessing Multiphase Lidar to Improve Evaluation of Sinkhole Occurrence Rates. AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
Shamloo, H., Cunningham, D., Yoder, E., DeBari, S., and Walowski, K. (submitted 2025). Months between initiation and eruption observed for the four most recent lavas at a Cascade Volcano, Mount Baker (Kulshan), Washington, US. AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
Shamloo, H., Cunningham, D., Yoder, E., DeBari, S., and Walowski, K. (submitted 2025). Months between initiation and eruption observed for the four most recent lavas at a Cascade Volcano, Mount Baker (Kulshan), Washington, US. GSA Connects Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX.
Cunningham, D., Zhu, J., and Kock, H. (2025). Integrating Lidar with Machine Learning to Identify and Map Sinkholes in the Barren River Area Development District. Annual Ky Association of Mitigation Managers Family Conference, Corbin, KY.
Cunningham, D., Zhu, J., and Kock, H. (2025). Semiautomated Approach for Mapping Complex Sinkholes in the Pennyroyal Karst Plain using Lidar and Machine Learning. Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium, Lexington, KY.
DeBari, S., Escobar-Burciaga, R., Aughenbaugh, K., Cunningham, D., Florea, A., Garvey, B., Kaplan, E., Shamloo, H., Tucker, D., Walowski, K., and Yoder, E. (2025). Phenocryst or not? Using a stratovolcano’s crystal cargo to explore crustal-scale magmatic systems through time. European Geophysical Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria.
Cunningham, D., Shamloo, H., DeBari, S., and Walowski, K. (2024). Timescales of Magma Storage and Eruption Initiation for the Most Recent Lava Flow at Mount Baker (Koma Kulshan), WA. GSA Joint Annual Cordilleran/Rocky Mountain Section Meeting Abstract 34-1, Spokane, WA.
Cunningham, D., Shamloo, H., DeBari, S., and Walowski, K. (2023). Timescales of Magma Storage and Eruption Initiation of the Most Recent Lava Flow at Koma Kulshan (Mt. Baker, WA). AGU Fall Meeting Abstract V31G-06, San Francisco, CA.
Crane, K., Bohanon, A., Rich, J., McCullough, L., & Cunningham, D. (2022). Flash flooding on Mars could be linked to large fault slip events. GSA Connects Annual Meeting Abstract 226-14, Denver, CO.
Cunningham, D. and Crane, K. (2021). Effects of Fractures in Fold-Related Fault Zones. GSA Connects Annual Meeting Abstract 188-30, Portland, OR.
Cunningham, D. and Crane, K. (2020). Structural analyses of fold-related thrust fault zones, Ocoee, TN. Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium Abstract 133, Mississippi State, MS.
Field Experience:
2023
South Sister, OR. Deployed GPS units in different locations surrounding the south side of South Sister Volcano to measure deflation/inflation of the volcano.
2022
Entiat, WA. Gathered structural data from an emplaced andesite unite and the surrounding Swakane Gneiss to create the class geologic map of the area. Gathered samples of potential crustal and mantle xenoliths to further determine the mode of emplacement of the andesite unit.
Koma Kulshan, WA. Gathered samples from Sulphur Creek lava flow for chemical analysis for graduate thesis.
Starkville, MS. Planned, led, and conducted multiple weeks of field work to gather erosion and pollution data from local cemeteries for a community outreach project.
2021
NE New Mexico; SE Colorado. Gained and practiced skills in field survival and field mapping of faults, fold, sedimentary basins, and igneous features within the Raton Basin.
2020
Meridian, MS; Warrior and Tuscaloosa, AL. Gathered structural and sedimentological data for field mapping and cross sections.
2019
Chattanooga, Ocoee, and Dunlap, TN. Planned, led and conducted multiple weeks of field work for undergraduate research assistantship.
Skills:
Computer Skills
Office and Google Drive Suites
MOVE Structural Geology Suites
Agisoft Metashape Suites
Nikon Suites
Mancos and Field Move
Adobe Illustrator
Geographical Information System (ArcGIS Pro and Map)
AZTEC software for SEM
Python coding language
Laboratory Skills
Understand basic geologic, structural, and planetary maps.
Produce geologic maps of Earth and other planets with balanced cross sections.
Take field notes, measurements, photos, and sketches.
Identify minerals composition and rock properties in hand sample and thin section using petrographic microscopes.
Use SEM, EPMA, and LA-ICP-MS to collect chemical data of metamorphic and igneous samples.
Community Outreach:
2025
Presented at a Girl Scout event in Lexington, KY on the relationship between sinkhole formation and precipitation. This outreach included:
Producing maps with karst vs non-karst locations in KY.
A hands demonstration showing the different reactions between different types of rocks and acid
2021 – 2022
Work with the City of Starkville and the J.L. King Center to educate the local community about erosion and pollution issues in the surrounding cemeteries and ways to help solve these problems. This outreach included:
Presenting a poster and lecture to an afterschool program at the J. L. King Center
Creating a “Local Cemeteries” section within an ArcGIS StoryMap that includes all projects focused on community engagement for that year.
Mentoring & Teaching:
Mentoring:
Mentoring KGS HydroLab CLIMBS student in sinkhole mapping in southern KY, 2025 - present
Mentoring CWU undergraduate students in research group (CHIVES), 2022 – 2024
Co-planning Summer Research Experience at Koma Kulshan, WA for non-major undergraduate students from indigenous communities across WA, 2022 – 2024
Invited Lecturer:
Introduction to the Cascade Volcanoes, Volcanoes of the USA (GEOL 184), 2022, Central Washington University
Tutoring:
Geology:
Structural Geology (GG 4413), 2020 – 2022, Mississippi State University
Earth Science I (GG 1113), 2020 – 2022, Mississippi State University
Mathematics:
Calculus I and II (MA 1713 and 1723), 2020 – 2022, Mississippi State University
Deferential Equations (MA 3253), 2020 – 2022, Mississippi State University
Grants:
GSA Graduate Student Research Grant, 2023 | $2,000
Graduate Student Research Support Award, Central Washington University, 2023 | $1,000
GSA Southeastern Section Grant, 2021 | $200
Department of Geosciences Undergraduate Travel Grant, Mississippi State University, 2021 | $500
ORED Undergraduate Research Grant, Mississippi State University, 2020 | $2,000
Honors and Awards:
- Distinguished Thesis Award, 2024
- Puget Sound Graduate Student Fellowship, 2022 – 2023
- Diane Shook Memorial Endowed Scholarship, 2021 – 2022
- Gordon W. Gulmon Memorial Scholarship, 2021
- George H. Bishop Endowed Scholarship in Geology, 2020
- Ronald Greeley Memorial Endowed Scholarship, 2018 – 2019