Planetary Process Simulation
I'm interested in understanding the geology of planetary materials, i.e., meteorites, asteroids, planetesimals, and planets. These materials provide us with a record of planet-forming processes in a wide range of geochemical environments. I use a variety of petrologic and geochemical methods of analysis to investigate meteorites and learn about both nebular and geologic processes relevant to asteroid/planet formation.
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To support my investigations into planetary differentiation and core formation, I use experimental and analytical techniques to simulate how variable concentrations of oxygen and sulfur affected the evolutionary pathways of planetary bodies. In 2025, we published our findings about how moderately oxidized asteroids and smaller planets like Mars undergo core formation through percolative migration of molten sulfides. This work is being further explored in new compositional regimes for the outer solar system by one of my graduate students, Daniel Burgin (pictured to the right, the fellow with the dapper mustache). Daniel is supported through a prestigious Forrest Research Fellowship at Curtin University in Perth, Australia.
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My experimental petrology facilities at the University of Arizona include all the necessary equipment for conducting petrologic and geochemical experiments in evacuated glass tubes up to 1,200 °C.
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Nonlinear Optical Mineralogy
My colleagues in the Ultrafast Fiber Lasers and Nonlinear Optics Group at the University of Arizona have developed a unique type of multiphoton microscope that is capable of novel 3D imaging techniques with geologic materials. We are exploring these capabilities with applications to microstructures and fluorescent characteristics of meteorites and astromaterials returned via spacecraft. We are currently the only group publishing work in this area, which has the potential to revolutionize the optical analysis of rocks and minerals from Earth and space. See the NOM Group page for more information.
Please read my CV for a full list of publications and more (last updated April 2026).
