CV and Contact

Current contact information

Current affiliation:
Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Eau terre environnement research centre
Postdoctoral Researcher in Machine Learning Applications for Geoscience

CV (Sept 2026)

Education

Doctor of Philosophy: Earth Science, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (May 2026)
Thesis Title: Phreatomagmatic Magma Fragmentation at Maars: Insights from Detailed Ash Characterization and Multivariate Statistical Analysis (Advisor Pierre-Simon Ross)

Masters of Science: Geological Sciences, University of British Columbia (December 2021)
Thesis Title: Controls on distribution, intensity, and extent of palagonitization in glaciovolcanic settings (Advisor Kelly Russell)

Bachelor of Arts: Geology, Middlebury College (May 2018)
Thesis Title: Pre-eruptive storage and evolution of high-Mg basalts in the southern Cascade Arc (Advisor Kristina Walowski)

Scholarship

Peer reviewed publications:

Leiter, S., Ross, P.-S., Gloaguen, E., “Differentiating phreatomagmatic fragmentation in mafic monogenetic volcanoes based on tephra characteristics” (2026) in review.

Leiter, S., Ross, P.-S. & Ort, M.H. Phreatomagmatic fragmentation signature in tephra deposits from Ukinrek Maars, Alaska. Bull Volcanol 88, 83 (2026).

Leiter, S., Ross, P.-S., Johnson, E.R., “Magma fragmentation and tephra deposition from a small-volume phreatomagmatic eruption: Blue Lake Crater, Oregon, USA” Bulletin of Volcanology 87, 11 (2025).

Leiter, S., Russell, J.K., Heap, M.J. et al. Distribution, intensity, and timing of palagonitization in glaciovolcanic deposits, Cracked Mountain volcano, Canada. Bulletin of Volcanology 86, 32 (2024).

Abdale, L., Leiter, S., Wilson, S., Russell, K., & Groat, L. Characterization of Hydrothermal Alteration in Palagonitized Deposits Using Short-Wave Infrared Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction Methods. The Canadian Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology, 61, 2 (2023).

Ramachandran, A., Achar, J., Green, G., Hanson-Wright, B., Leiter, S., & Öberg, G. Changing Debates and Shifting Landscapes in Science Studies: Exploring How Graduate Students with Varied Backgrounds Think About the Role of Value-Judgments in Science. Engaging Science, Technology, and Society 8, 2 (2022).

Hollyday, A. E., Leiter, S. H., & Walowski, K. J. Pre-eruptive storage, evolution, and ascent timescales of a high-Mg basaltic andesite in the southern Cascade Arc. Contrib. Mineral Petrol. 175, 88 (2020).

Publications in preparation

Routine for automatic segmentation of volcanic ash particles from lake cores

Conference Presentations

Leiter S. and Ross, P.-S. Oral Presentation, “Insights into fragmentation dynamics from volcanic ash characterization at two maars,” AGU Fall Meeting. New Orleans, USA. Dec 2025.

Leiter S., Ross, P.-S., and Johnson, E.R. Oral Presentation, “Eruptive history and ash morphology from a young maar eruption, Blue Lake Crater, Oregon, USA,” 1st International Monogenetic Conference, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Nov 2024.

Leiter S., Ross, P.-S., and Johnson, E.R. Poster Presentation, “Phreatomagmatic fragmentation and tephra deposition at Blue Lake Crater, Oregon, USA” Cities on Volcanoes 12. La Antigua, Guatemala. Feb 2024.

Hollyday, A.E., Leiter. S., and Walowski, K.J. Poster Presentation, “Testing the resolution of inter-elemental diffusion chronometry on natural clinopyroxene and olivine to infer processes of lower crustal fractionation, mixing, and rapid ascent of high-Mg magmas from the southern Cascade arc” AGU Fall Meeting. San Francisco, USA. Dec 2019. *Co-presented

Leiter. S., and Walowski, K.J. Poster Presentation, “Pre-Eruptive Storage and Evolution of High-Mg Basalts in the Southern Cascade Arc” AGU Fall Meeting. Washington D.C., USA. Dec 2018

Professional Training

VICTOR Computational Volcanology Course

Semester-long weekly virtual course on computational volcanology and the VICTOR platform offered through Columbia University and University of South Florida.

VICTOR Workshop

Week-long field course focused on integrating field observations and remote sensing into computation models housed on VICTOR platform.