Student training is an important component of the research activities of the Institute. The Institute itself does not award degrees; rather the Institute maintains close relationships with the Department of Geological Sciences and the Marine Science Department through cooperative programs and joint faculty appointments. Many graduate and undergraduate students from UT and other universities and high school students take advantage of the opportunity to work with the staff and facilities of the Institute for Geophysics on projects related to funded research programs. Office space and computational resources are made available to students in the Institute laboratory. There are at present more than 50 students associated with the Institute.
Further information (including info on fellowships, research assistantships, jobs), is available regarding opportunities for prospective students.
211 grad students are enrolled at the JSG MS and PhD program in Fall, 2009; 47 (22%) of them work on their thesis and dissertation research with scientists at UTIG. Below is a list of graduate students working at the Institute for Geophysics.
| Student | Title/Topic | Expected Comple- tion Date | Degree | UTIG Supervisor |
Committee Supervisor |
Source of Support | Primary JSG ERG* Affiliation | Previous Institution /Major |
Office # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alhussain, Mohammed | Seismic characterization of fractured carbonate reservoirs | Spring 2013 | PhD | Sen | Sen | industry support | Geophys | Curtin Univ of Tech, Perth, Aus/ Geophysics | |
| Alvarez, Tricia | Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of shelf to deepwater basin systems in the tectonically active Southern Caribbean area. | Spring 2012 | PhD | Mann | Mann | TA | Sed & Strat, Struc Geo & Tect | Univ Texas Austin/ Geosciences; Univ West Indies/ Geology | 3.110H |
| Andrews, Lauren | Subglacial Controls on Greenland Ice Sheet Marginal Acceleration | Spring 2013 | PhD | Catania | Catania | GRA | Geophys, Climate Systems Science |
Carleton College /Geology | 2.116K |
| Bernal Olaya, Rocio | Tectonics and geomodeling of the Lower Magdalena basin, Colombia | Spring 2011 | MS | Mann | Mann | GRA on CBTH | Energy Geosc | Univ Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogota/ Geology | 3.117 |
| Brothers, Thomas | Geomorphic features on Mars icecap | Spring 2012 | PhD | Holt | Holt | GRA on UTIG grant | 2.254 | ||
| Burnett, William | Three-dimensional velocity-independent seismic imaging using directional multi-azimuth attributes | Spring 2012 | PhD | Stoffa | Stoffa/ Fomel |
industry fellowship | |||
| Campos, Henry | Tectonics and petroleum potential of the Llanos foreland basin, Colombia | Spring 2011 | MS | Mann | Mann | GRA on CBTH | Energy Geosc | Simon Bolivar Univ., Venezuela /Geophys | 3.117 |
| Chu, Chunlei | Seismic Modeling and Imaging with the Fourier Method: Numerical Analyses and Parallel Implementation Strategies | Fall 2009 | PhD | Stoffa | Stoffa | Geophys | Ocean University of China/ Earth Prospecting and Information Technology | 2.206 | |
| Comeaux, Rebecca | Implications of Black Mangrove Colony Expansion in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Coastal Wetlands on Sea Level-induced Land Loss and Estuarine Productivity | Spring 2010 | MS | Allison | Allison | GRA on UTIG grant, RA for JSG | Sed & Strat, MG & G | U. Texas, Austin/ Geology | 3.101 |
| Delbecq, Katie | Subsurface mapping, dating, and modeling of of prehistorical and historical tsunami and landslide deposits near Port Royal, Jamaica | Spring 2014 | PhD | Hornbach | Hornbach | Ewing-Worzel Fellowship | MG & G | Earlham College/ Geology | 2.116K |
| Eakin, Dan | Accretionary prism development and deformation in the pre-arc-continent collision transition zone offshore Taiwan | Spring 2011 | MS | McIntosh | Lavier | GRA | MG & G | Univ Wyoming/ Geology | 3.226 |
| Frederick, Bruce | Analyzing East Antarctic subglacial sedimentary deposits with airborne radar, magnetics and gravity | 2014 | PhD | Blanken- ship |
Blanken- ship |
GRA | Geophys | Univ Miami/ Rosential School for Marine & Atmos Sciences/ Geology | 2.242 |
| Glidewell, Jennifer | Search for high-frequency teleseismic events in seismograms recorded by the Apollo lunar seismic network | Spring 2013 | PhD | Frohlich | TA | Geophys | Univ of Houston/ Geophysics; Auburn Univ/ Geology | 2.206 | |
| Gorman, Meaghan | Determining climate variability from coral geochemistry | Spring 2014 | PhD | Quinn | Quinn | TA | Climate Systems Science | Boston Univ./ Earth Sciences | GEO 5.118 |
| Graham, Emily | Three-dimensional gas migration and gas hydrate systems of south Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon | Spring 2011 | MS | Bangs | GRA | MG & G | U. South Carolina /Geophys | 3.226 | |
| Greenbaum, Jamin | Observing ice/ocean interaction with airborne radar and gravity | Spring 2012 | PhD | Blanken- ship |
Blanken- ship |
GRA |
Geophys | U Texas, Austin/ Aerospace Engineering | 2.268 |
| Hereid, Kelly | Understanding ENSO variability in the Western Pacific Warm Pool utilizing coral geochemistry | Spring 2012 | PhD | Quinn | Quinn | TA for JSG | Climate Systems Science | Carleton College/ geology & biology | 2.114 |
| Huber, Kathryn | Lithospheric structure of eastern Antarctica | Spring 2014 | PhD | Blanken- ship |
Blanken- ship |
GRA | Geophys | Louisiana State Univ/ Geology | 2.242 |
| Joy, Corey | Anisotropic reflection coefficients | Spring 2011 | MS | Sen | Sen | Explora- tion Geo- physics fellowship | U Texas, Austin/ Mechanical Engineering | 2.208 | |
| Lester, Ryan | Seismic imaging of the Taiwan orogen | Spring 2012 | PhD | McIntosh | McIntosh | GRA industry fellowship |
MG & G | Virginia Tech/ Geophysics; Trinity Univ/ Geosciences | 3.226 |
| Leuro, Erick | Spatial Distribution of snow accumulation rates in West Antarctica | Fall 2009 | PhD | Blanken- ship |
Blanken- ship |
industry support | Geophys | Universidad Distrital, Colombia/ Surveying Engineering; Univ Texas Austin/ Geophysics | |
| Logan, Liz | Modeling and parameterization of lithospheric deformation processes at the brittle ductile transition | Spring 2014 | PhD | Lavier | Lavier | Gale White Fellowship | Geophys | Columbia Univ, New York/ Earth & Environ Sciences | 3.102J |
| Lu, Shaoping | A Simulated Annealing Inverse Model Study of Abrupt Climate Change of the Last Ice Age | Spring 2010 | PhD | Jackson | Jackson | TA | U Science & Tech China/ Applied Physics | 2.242 | |
| Martin, Kylara | Geophysical investigations in the Nankai Trough and Sumatran subduction zones | Spring 2012 | PhD | Gulick | Gulick | TA | MG & G | California Inst of Tech/ Geophysics | 3.244 |
| Maupin, Christopher | Coral-based records of Holocene tropical climate variability | PhD | Quinn | Quinn | U South Florida/ Ocean- ography; Eckerd College/ Marine Science | 2.114 | |||
| Patel, Paresh | Subduction modeling and flat subduction | Spring 2010 | PhD | Grand | Grand | GRA on UTIG grant | Mass Inst Tech/ Chemistry | 3.102J | |
| Phan, Son | Uncertainty in reservoir parameter estimation | Spring 2011 | MS | Sen | Sen | DOE grant | 2.228 | ||
| Punnette, Stefan | Seismic stratigraphy, structure, and tectonics of the southern Tobago basin and northern margin of Trinidad | Spring 2010 | MS | Mann | Mann | industry fellowship | Sed & Strat, Struc Geo & Tect, Energy Geosc | University of the West Indies, Mona/ Geology | 3.110A |
| Ramirez, Michael | Late Holocene Climate Change Sediment Record in South Island Fjords, New Zealand | Spring 2011 | MS | Allison | Allison | Ewing-Worzel Fellowship | MG & G | Vanderbilt/ Geology | 3.101 |
| Reece, Bobby | The Surveyor Fan and Yakutat block tectonics in the Gulf of Alaska | Spring 2012 | PhD | Gulick | Gulick | industry fellowship | MG & G | Skidmore College/ Geology | 3.226 |
| Richards, Travis | Seismic inversion for mapping bossier sand | MS | Sen | Sen | EDGER forum | 2.206 | |||
| Rodriguez, Anthony | Subsurface mapping and hydrocarbon potential of Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary sequences and structures in the Mexican sector of the Gulf of Mexico | Spring 2011 | MS | Mann/ Galloway |
Mann/ Galloway, Fisher |
GRA on CBTH; McNair Fellow- ship; Weeks Fund Scholar- ship | Energy Geosc, MG&G, Struc Geo & Tect | Grand Valley State U/ Geology | 3.117 |
| Sanchez, Carla | Neogene Mixed Carbonate-Siliciclastic Systems of the Australian Northwest Shelf | Spring 2012 | PhD | Fulthorpe/ Austin |
Steel/ Fulthorpe |
GRA | Sed & Strat | U Texas, Austin/ Geology; Simon Bolivar U, Venezuela/ Geophysical Engineering | 3.244 |
| Santra, Manasij | Forearc basin in Oregon and New Jersey margin sediments | Spring 2011 | PhD | Goff | Steel, Austin, Mohrig | TA | Sed & Strat | Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur/ Applied Geology; Presidency College, University of Calcutta/ Geology | GEO 6.126 |
| Sawyer, Derek | Shear-induced consolidation and pore pressure in submarine landslides | Spring 2010 | PhD | Flemings | Flemings | GRA | MG & G | Penn State Univ/ Geosci.; Eckerd College/ Marine Science | 2.116L |
| Schneider, Julia | Compression and permeability behavior of fine-grained rocks | Spring 2011 | PhD | Flemings | Flemings | GRA | MG & G | University of Bremen/ Geosciences | 2.116L |
| Schroeder, Dusty | Ice penetrating radar, subglacial boundary conditions, ice sheet models, and uncertainty | 2013 | PhD | Blanken- ship |
Blanken- ship |
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship | Geophys | Bucknell University/ Electrical Engineering & Physics | 2.268 |
| Shahin, Alireza | Seismically Detecting and Discriminating Fluid Flow Over Reservoir Production Time | Fall 2011 | PhD | Stoffa | Tatham/ Stoffa |
Univ of Tehran/ Petroleum Exploration Engineering; Isfahan University of Tech/ Mining Exploration Engineering | 2.126 | ||
| Siks, Ben | Collaborative Research: Stratigraphic signatures of orogeny: Assessing the timing of initial Andean crustal shortening | Spring 2011 | MS | Horton | Horton | GRA | Sed & Strat | Washington State University /Geology | GEO 4.118 |
| Smith, Isaac | Ice morphology on the Northern Layered Deposits of Mars | PhD | Holt | Holt/Sen | GRA NASA | Geophys | Univ of Missouri - St. Louis/ Physics; Southwestern Univ, Georgetown, TX/ Physics | 2.254 | |
| Stephens, Jason | Effects of Eustatic and Tectonic Forcing on the Development of Forearc Basin Sequence Stratigraphy | Spring 2010 | PhD | McIntosh/ Fulthorpe |
Tatham | Gale White Fellowship | Geophys | College of Charleston, SC/ Geology | 3.244 |
| Strong, Hilary | Exploring the origin and properties of mass transport deposits, Ursa Basin, Gulf of Mexico | Fall 2009 | MS | Flemings | Flemings | GRA | MG & G | Univ of California, Los Angeles/ Geology | 2.116J |
| Worthington, Lindsay Lowe | Structural evolution and geodynamic processes in the Gulf of Alaska: Implications for tectonic-climatic interactions | Spring 2010 | PhD | Gulick | Gulick | MG & G | Univ. of California at Berkeley | 3.244 | |
| Tao, Yi | Directional seismic interferometric imaging | Spring 2012 | PhD | Sen | industry fellowship | Geophys | Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing/ Geophysics; Univ Science & Tech China/ Geophysics |
2.228 | |
| You, Yao | Failure caused by breaching in subaqueous sand | Spring 2012 | PhD | Flemings | Flemings Mohrig | Indiana University/ Geology; Peking Univ/ Geology & Mathematics | 2.116J | ||
| Yu Xia | Edge-driven convection in the western U.S. | Spring 2012 | PhD | Grand/ Pulliam |
Grand/ Pulliam |
GRA | Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing/ Geophysics; Univ Science & Tech China/ Geophysics |
*ERG - Education & Research Group
334 undergrad geology majors are enrolled at the JSG MS and PhD program in Fall, 2009. Eight(2%) of them work as undergraduate research assistants at UTIG.
| Student | Year | Degree/ Department |
UTIG Project | UTIG Supervisor | Source of Support | Primary JSG ERG* Affiliation | Office # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allan, Adam | Senior | BS DGS |
linear seismic tomography | Sen | industry project | 2.228 | |
| Choudhary, Prateek | Senior | Electrical Engineering/ Physics |
Simulation of Mars orbital radar sounding data for subsurface echo detection and characterization | Holt | NASA grant | ||
| Code, Elizabeth | Sophomore | Nursing | GBDS | Ganey-Curry | industry project | Energy Geosc | 3.105 |
| Collins, Elizabeth | Junior | BS DGS |
RA on UTIG grant | Lavier | NSF Grant | ||
| Desanto, John | Sophomore | BS DGS |
Blanken- ship |
||||
| Fitz, Guy | Senior | BS DGS |
Papua New Guinea tectonics | Mann | NSF grant | Sed & Strat, Struc Geo & Tect | |
| Kopriva, Bryant | Senior | BS DGS |
Experimental flume studies of tsunamis | Hornbach | NSF Grant | ||
| Lewis, Dan'l | Senior | BS DGS |
GBDS | Ganey-Curry | industry project | Energy Geosc | 3.105 |
| Morgan, Frank | Junior | BS DGS |
Stratigraphic signatures of orogeny: Assessing the timing of initial Andean crustal shortening | Horton | NSF Grant EAR 0710793 |
||
| Ott, Bryan | Junior | BS DGS |
Papua New Guinea tectonics | Mann | NSF grant | 3.110A | |
| Srivastava, Sanchi | Junior | BS, Computer Sciences | CBTH | Mann | industry project | Energy Geosc | 3.110A |
Undergraduate Administrative Assistants
| Student | Year | Department | UTIG Supervisor/Coordinator | Office # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rubel, Joe | Junior | College of Liberal Arts | Taylor | LSF-176 |
| Van Gaasbeck, Ron | Freshman | College of Liberal Arts | Yarbro | 2.102 |
| Ward, Corey | Junior | College of Liberal Arts | Yarbro | 2.102 |
Visiting students work at UTIG for two common reasons: as an internship needed for graduation from their home institutions; or because they are working on a dataset collected by UTIG scientists. Their degrees are granted by their home institutions and not UT.
| Student | University | Degree | Project | UTIG Supervisor | Office # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liu, Cong | China University of Geosciences | PhD | exploration/development of petroleum | Fulthorpe | 3.102J |
| Liu, Tao | Peking University, Beijing, China | PhD | Hybrid FE/SEM seismic modeling | Sen | 2.208 |
| Pearson, Zulmacristina | Univ of Alaska, Fairbanks | MS | Seismic stratigraphy of Chixcilub crater, Yucatan | Gulick | 3.102J |