"Over 40,000 atoms counted this year."

People in the lab -- Dissolution is our specialty... John Stone Director I am a geologist with a particular interest in cosmic-ray-produced nuclides. With various students and collaborators, I am working on several projects in Antarctica, some aimed at dating the last glacial maximum, another dealing with the enigmatic ice in Beacon Valley. Other projects include the history of erosion beneath the Laurentide Ice Sheet, survival of ancient landscapes in Australian and South America, erosion and sediment transport in the Pacific northwest, and reconstruction of the last ice sheet in Britain. The projects and publications listed elsewhere on this website provide further details of my research. I am also involved in the never-ending game of calibrating cosmogenic nuclide production rates, where my specialty is the production of Be-10, Al-26 and Cl-36, both at the surface and deep below ground. Greg Balco Soft-money researcher CV I'm generally interested in Quaternary stratigraphy, geomorphology and landscape evolution, and geochronology. I'm currently: 1) dating late Pliocene-early Pleistocene glacial (and other) deposits via Be-10 and Al-26 measurements; 2) studying erosion and sediment transport in the Pacific Northwest and south Utah; 3) sorting out cosmogenic-nuclide systematics, in particular low-energy neutron transport near snow-covered surfaces; 4) studying landscape geomorphology with high-resolution digital topography; 5) reconstructing Antarctic ice sheet retreat using glacial geology and cosmogenic-nuclide measurements, and 6) applying cosmogenic-nuclide geochemistry in a variety of other projects, mostly to do with geochronology. Noah Finnegan Ph.D. student I have broad interests in geomorphology and tectonics. At present I am working on measuring cosmogenic Be-10 in river sediments from the eastern Himalayan syntaxis to constrain spatial variability in erosion in the region. Additionally, I am working to develop a quantitative understanding of channel cross-sectional form in bedrock rivers in order to improve current models of bedrock river incision. I am also interested in developing better ways to use remote sensing and GIS to infer the spatial variability of erosion rates in active orogens. Claire Todd Ph.D. student Claire is planning a PhD in glacial geology, but first, she's been set the Herculean task of dating the last glacial maximum in the Ellsworth Mountains. Will she reduce the Al content of her quartz samples to less than 200 ppm and defeat the forces of evil? Andrew Gendaszek M.S. student Erosion rate measurements using cosmogenic nuclides. Spatial variability in erosion rates. Landscape evolution modeling. Numerical optimization. Starfish. Woohoo! Matt Kuharic M.S. student web page I'm currently involved with the Geodynamics of Indentor Corners Project studying the eastern syntaxis of the Himalaya. I am now working to define the timing and extent of Quaternary glaciations in southeast Tibet using exposure dating of glacially transported boulders. I will also be working with Noah Finnegan to measure erosion rates for a range of watersheds in the area. Joy Laydbak Lab manager Former Geological Sciences student Joy Laydbak found that she liked chemistry, too, and returned to take charge of some of our chemistry operations. As she's here 9 to 5, we can now actually receive deliveries. Seth Cowdery M.S., 2004; on leave 2004-5 web page Seth had the good fortune to work in Antarctica while doing his undergraduate degree at Colorado College. Unable to kick the habit, he's now using cosmogenic Be-10, Al-26 and Cl-36 in bedrock samples to unravel the long-term glacial history of Marie Byrd Land.   Cosmogenic Isotope Lab alumni -- Nathaniel Thompson Mineral separation expert; B.A., 2004 Previously in charge of sample prep operations; personally responsible for the first ever pure quartz extractions from carbonaceous graywackes of the California and Oregon coast ranges. See some results (large PDF poster) Oh yeah -- also a music major. Jeff Hungerford Aspiring volcanologist; some sort of degree, 2003 hungerfj@onid.orst.edu Jeff specialises in chlorine-36 dating, mostly of Hawaiian lavas. Jeff holds lab awards for consistently low Cl-36 blanks and best-dressed geochemist. Derrick Johnson Electronics guru JPL veteran Derrick Johnson has implemented most of John's schemes for lab automation, including general equipment interfacing and software-writing tasks as well as electronics, plumbing, and LEGO robotics. Meg Smith M.S., 2003 Meg Smith works in Antarctica, where she has been involved in a study of the world's oldest ice, in Beacon Valley. This picture shows much younger ice.