Minerology and Petrology

Faculty and students in the department conduct research in the fields of:

• Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
• Mineralogy and Crystallography
• Clay Mineralogy

Much of the research is field-oriented with current projects working in the Klamath Mountains (California & Oregon), the Ruby Mountains (Nevada), the Caledonides of central Norway, the Seiland and Tysfjord regions of north Norway, various ophiolites and oceanic spreading centers, as well as west Texas and eastern New Mexico.

Faculty

 

Dr. Callum Hetherington, mineralogy, geochemistry, and micro-analytical study of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Dr. Branimir Segvic, clay mineralogy and low-temperature geochemistry.

Dr. Aaron Yoshinobu, microstructural evolution of the lithosphere, structural petrology of arc & ophiolite/oceanic spreading centers.

Research Facilities

• Aqueous Geochemistry Laboratory
• Clay Mineralogy Laboratory
• GeoAnalytical Laboratory
• Laboratory for Stable Isotope Geochemistry
• College of Arts & Sciences Microscopy (CASM)

Courses in Mineralogy and Petrology

• GEOL 3401 Mineralogy
• GEOL 3321 Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
• GEOL 3325 Sedimentary Petrology
• GEOL 4321 Igneous and Metamorphic Process
• GEOL 5300 Independent Studies in Geology (Metamorphic Petrology)
• GEOL 5304 Techniques in Electron Microscopy
• GEOL 5305 Geology of Clays
• GEOL 5361 Advaned Structural Geology (Rheology & Deformation Mechanisms in Earth Systems)