Hi!

Thanks for visiting.

I am a volcanologist with interests in eruption dynamics, petrology, sediment transport processes, basin evolution, tectonics and Earth history. My research integrates field mapping, stratigraphy, petrography, geochemistry, and geochronology to investigate the sedimentary and tectono-magmatic evolution of the Earth. A specific research objective of mine is to better understand submarine eruption, magma fragmentation and dispersal processes. To do this my research team combines field studies of modern and ancient deposits exposed on the seafloor and on land with laboratory based analytical approaches.

More information on my research projects page highlight some of the exciting aspects of my work, and give an overview of the type of things my students and I do.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we have ready access to world class labs and field sites. If you are interested in undertaking a MS graduate project in volcanology, petrology, and/or sedimentology at SJSU please visit my research page and contact me at ryan.portner@sjsu.edu.

My CV can be found here .

If you are interested in our field camp details about the course can be found on our department website.