Teaching & Mentoring
My approach to teaching and mentoring is motivated by how students learn and grow as scientists. In the classroom, I strive to employ research-informed active learning methods that help students develop critical thinking, technical, and communication skills as geoscientists. I extend that same philosophy into mentoring — bringing students into real data and real questions, and helping them build confidence in their own scientific thinking along the way.
Current and Past Taught Courses
Instructor of Record
Boston College
- EESC 1168 : Environmental Geosciences: Earth Processes & Risks | Spring 2026 | View Syllabus
Hamilton College
- GEOSC 220 : Mineralogy | Fall 2024 | View Syllabus
- GEOSC 111 : Principles of Geoscience — Natural Hazards & Society | Spring 2025 | View Syllabus
- GEOSC 234 : Volcano Monitoring | Spring 2025 | View Syllabus
Co-Teaching
Hamilton College
- GEOSC 551 : Senior Seminar | Fall 2024
Mentoring
My approach to mentoring is rooted in curiosity, collaboration, and care. I believe that effective mentorship goes beyond guiding students through a project - it means helping them develop confidence in their scientific thinking, building resilience in the face of uncertainty, and finding their own voice as researchers. I strive to create an environment where students feel genuinely supported to ask questions, take intellectual risks, and grow.
Student Highlights
Stella Essenmacher
Stella completed her senior thesis at Hamilton College under my supervision, investigating spatiotemporal ground deformation at Whakaari (White Island) volcano using InSAR time-series analysis. Her work contributed directly to a co-authored publication in Earth and Space Science (2025), and she presented her findings at the EGU General Assembly in Vienna. [Currently a Ph.D. Student at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.]
Owen Ferguson
Owen, an undergraduate student from Hamilton College, gaining hands-on experience with EBSD (Electron Backscatter Diffraction) on samples from the Gofar Transform Fault.
Learning outside the Classroom
