Undergraduate Research

 The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) provides a wide range of undergraduate research opportunities that develop professional experience before graduation.  With a faculty advisor, our students undertake field work in local and often remote and international locations, collect and analyse research samples and instrumental data sets, are trained in a range of computational and analytical methods including use of instrumentation such as parallel-processing computers, mass spectrometers, seismometers, and laser spectroscopy. EPS undergraduate research projects have been published in top-ranked peer-reviewed journal publications.    If you are interested in undertaking a research project, we encourage you to contact a faculty member, or the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Prof. Andrew Jacobson, as soon as possible. The earlier a project begins, the greater the potential of the research.

Kristen Bartucci

Working with Dr. Yarrow Axford, Kristen is studying past Arctic climate through paleolimnology—the study of lakes and lake sediments.  Kristen is researching sediment cores from a lake on the southwest coast of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS).  This research focuses on the recent geologic past—the last 10,000 years or so of the Earth’s history.  Analyzing the abundance of certain fly larvae, or midges, from lake sediment cores is a good indicator of past temperatures.  Certain species only live in certain temperature ranges.  Therefore, knowing the magnitude of species at different times makes it possible to recreate temperature profiles of the area.  At the current melt rate of the GIS, understanding how sensitive it is to changes in temperature is crucial in order to predict what may happen with future warming. 

It is then possible to decipher the relative sensitivities of the ice sheet to temperature changes by comparing rates of glacial retreat and past temperature.  The midge data  they hope to find are crucial to determining the response of the Greenland ice sheet to current warming, as the ice sheet is 2 miles thick and is capable of a rise of 22 feet in sea level if melted completely.

Alexa Socianu

Working with Professor Cesca McInerney, Alexa's research, "Reconstructing p CO2 values during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum," focuses on a novel method of calculating paleo-pCO2 levels using pedogenic carbonate nodules in conjunction with leaf wax n-alkanes from paleosol horizons in the Big Horn Basin, WY dating back approximately 57 Ma. This time period, referred to as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, represents a period in Earth’s history when global surface temperatures had warmed by up to approximately 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Analysis of paleo-pCO2 levels allows us to understand the causes for this dramatic warming event. Current soil carbonate proxies used to estimate paleo-pCO2 rely on bulk organic matter δ13C values, however this method of calculation is flawed.By refining the method for calculating paleo-pCO2 levels, she hopes to more accurately assess and understand paleoenviornments as well as gain a better understanding of the effects of quantifiable increases in CO2 on global temperature change.

Joseph Walkowicz

Joseph's research, entitled Reconstruction of an Ordovician Megalograptus from Virginia, revolves around the identification and classification of an extinct group of arthropods called eurypterids. Although these ancient "sea scorpions" lived hundreds of millions of years ago, their phylogenetic characterization pertains to modern horseshoe crabs and scorpions, among other arthropods such as insects. Collaborating between many institutions, including the University of Illinois, Chicago and the Field Museum of Natural History, Joseph's research intends to reconstruct and identify a particularly rare eurypterid from its fossilized remains. He has collected his findings in a website.

Past Research

2010

Michael PHILBEN      Application of Compound-Specific Isotope Geochemistry to Constrain the Location of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in the Williston Basin.  Advisor Francesca McInerney

Michael MOUNIER      Sulfur Isotope Evidence for Low Marine Sulfate Concentrations and Increased Volcanic Activity Orior to Ocean Anoxic Event 2.  Advisor Matthew Hurtgen

John KAPNICK     n-Alkanes as Chemotaxonomic Indicators for Ferns.  Advisor Francesca McInerney

 2009

Sara BOSSHART      The Eocene/Oligocene Boundary in Oregon: a Mysterious Even-over-Odd Predominance of n-alkanes.  Advisor Francesca McInerney

Latisha BRENGMAN      The Sulfur Isotope Composition of Early Neoproterozoic Seawater as Recorded in the Bitter Springs Formation, Australia.  Advisor Matthew Hurtgen

Stefan JENSEN      Geophysical Evidence for Medieval-Period Hydroclimatic Change in the Sierra Nevada.  Advisor Seth Stein

Rebecca FISHER     Effects of Pressure on Bonding in Minerals.  Advisor Steven Jacobsen

2008

Sara BOSSHART      Leaf wax isotope signatures of Global Cooling (Eocene-Oligocene).      Advisor Francesca McInerney

Latisha BRENGMAN     Evaluating the Relationship Between the Geochemical Cycles of Carbon and Sulfur in the Early to Mid Neoproterozoic Ocean: An Example from the Akademikerbreen Group, Svalbard.   Advisor Matthew Hurtgen

Colin CARNEY      Terrestrial Weathering and Nutrient Recycling:  Bionutrient P Dynamics of the Late Devonian Appalachian Basin.   Advisor Bradley B. Sageman

Ben FARAH      Altitudinal Effects on Leaf Wax Composition.   Advisor Francesca McInerney

Stefan JENSEN     Design and Set-Up of Thin Section Laboratory.   Advisor Steven Jacobsen

Eric KRAMER      Tracking Arctic Climate Change in Alaska.  Advisor Andrew Jacobson

Nicki KRAVIS      Tracking Arctic Climate Change in Alaska.   Advisor Andrew Jacobson

Ryan LANGE     Relative Teleseismic Wave Arrival Times at Seismic Arrays Across the U.S.  Advisor Suzan van der Lee

2007

James HEBDEN       RayleighWave Propagation in Mid-Ocean Ridge Waveguides.  Advisor Seth Stein

Rohan  KUMTHEKAR     Martian North Pole Deposits – Seasonal Evolution.  Advisor Donna Jurdy

2006

Piyapa DEJTRAKULWONG     Analysis of Sedimentary Phosphorus in Cenomanian-Turonian (Cretaceous) Deposits of the Western Interior Seaway: Implications for the Interpretation of Oceanic Anoxic Event II.  Advisor Bradley B. Sageman

2005

Piyapa DEJTRAKULWONG        Analysis of nutrients dynamics in an ancient epicontinental sea.  Advisor Bradley B. Sageman

2004

Justin SWEET       Frequency-Size Distribution of Intraplate Earthquakes.  Advisor Emile A. Okal

2003

Jessica EDMONDS     Variations in Size and Location of Albedo Features on Mars. [ISP Honors Thesis]  Advisor Mark S. Robinson

2002

Jessica EDMONDS     Mapping Albedo Changes Through Time On Mars, Historical Observations.  Advisor Mark S. Robinson

Verene LYSTAD     Gazeteer Of Mercurian Features.  Advisor Mark S. Robinson

Petra PANCOSKOVA     Spectral Analysis of Orbitally Forced Sediments Using Measured Sections and Photographic Images.  Advisor Bradley B. Sageman

Brett WILCOX     Comparison of Cratering on Asteroid Eros and the Moon:  Comparison of Regoliths on Asteroid Eros and the Moon.     Advisor Mark S. Robinson

Matthew WILLIAMS     Analysis of Organic Carbon Accumulation across a Bulk Sedimentation Gradient: Late Cenomanian Hartland Shale Member, Western Interior U.S.     Advisor Bradley B. Sageman