My research interests lie in the area of mineralogy and igneous petrology. Currently, most of my research is focussing on volcanic rocks from the eastern San Francisco Volcanic Field in northern Arizona. .I also have ongoing research projects evaluating pegmatites from Colorado and Arizona.

Left: I am on rocks that are not all quite rocks yet. This was a break-out on an active lava flow in Hawaii (June 2000)

The fumarole deposit above, located on the summit of Sunset Crater volcano, was deposited as hot gasses and steam escaped from the volcano during the waning stages of eruption less than 1000 years ago; just yesterday in geologic time.

My research involves geochemically evaluating cinder cones and lava flows in the area of Sunset Crater Volcano & Wupatki National Monuments in northern Arizona.

The goal of this project is to create a volcanic history of the area and reevaluate recurrence rates for northern Arizona volcanoes.

Massive quartz and feldspar (above hammer) in the intermediate zone of the Tie Gulch pegmatite, Trout Creek Pegmatite District, Chaffee County, CO. In this pegmatite I found polycrase-(Y); one of those rare Nb-Ta-Ti oxide minerals that I am so fond of.

I am interested in the evolution of granite-pegmatite systems as well as the crystal chemistry of rare-earth-element bearing Nb-Ta-Ti oxide minerals. In plain English, that means I study really weird igneous rocks and really weird minerals (no reflection on me, of course). At present, I have research projects evaluating the mineralogy and geochemistry of pegmatites in Colorado and New England. These projects have led to the discovery of two potentially new mineral species.

I spent my sabbatical (Fall 2004) studying pegmatites in near Kingman, AZ where I discovered 3 minerals new to the state of Arizona and a world class deposit of a rare mineral called allanite-(Ce).