I have NSF funding for an outstanding undergraduate who wants to pursue groundbreaking research in metamorphic crystallization.  He or she will be participating in the first high-quality measurement of metamorphic nucleation rates, bringing together high-resolution Sm/Nd dating, EPMA, high-resolution X-ray computed tomography, and nucleation and growth simulations to understand how metamorphic crystallization occurs at the millimeter scale.  Harold Stowell, Ethan Baxter and I are developing this new method together with Ph.D. students and postdocs of theirs, but this new student will be a full-fledged member of the group, not a second-class citizen (as are some MS projects).

In addition, they will get to live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and work in a fun, collegial department.  We have 13 faculty, about 25 MS students, and about 130 undergrads.

Some relevant links: 

My research opportunities page: http://almandine.geol.wwu.edu/~dave/research/

GSA abstract by current MS student working on method development, but with only a small data set: http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2009AM/finalprogram/abstract_166678.htm

NSF award link with more detailed project description: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0911402
Department grad student page: http://geology.wwu.edu/dept/prospectives/graduate.shtml

Thanks,

Dave

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Dave Hirsch

Associate Professor

Department of Geology

Western Washington University

persistent email: [log in to unmask]

http://www.davehirsch.com

voice: (360) 389-3583

aim: [log in to unmask]

vCard: http://almandine.geol.wwu.edu/~dave/personal/DaveHirsch.vcf

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