PhD, 1980, University of Minnesota
The field of paleomagnetism and rock magnetism is founded on the ability of magnetic minerals in rocks, sediments, soils, and dust to record and store information about the geologic history of the Earth's magnetic field. I’m a geophysicist interested in the physical and chemical foundations of rock and mineral magnetism with an emphasis on magnetic iron nanophases and the interconnections between macroscopic magnetic behavior associated with magnetic memory and the underlying micromagnetic structures of iron oxide particles. This magnetic memory, if stored in nature and read in the laboratory correctly, provides geoscientists with information about the evolution of the geomagnetic field and the deep interior of the Earth and terrestrial planets; the history of tectonic plates and mantle dynamics; and the evolution of Earth’s surficial environments. My researches emphasizes laboratory based experiments (magnetometry and magnetic imaging) and currently involves understanding the physicochemical properties of micron- and nanoscale iron oxide and oxyhydroxide minerals in aeolian mineral dust, and the temperature- and magnetic-field response of micromagnetic structures most responsible for remanence in natural materials and synthetic analogs. I am also the Director of the Institute for Rock Magnetism, a National multi-user facility whose core mission is to provide access to advanced instrumentation, technical expertise, and training to an international community of researchers and students using magnetism to solve diverse problems in the Earth Sciences.
Fellow, American Geophysics Union, elected 2000