Current students:

• Christopher Bruton
• Helena Buurman
• Nicole DeRoin 
• Angela Ekstrand
• Ronni Grapenthin
• Sarah Henton
• Taryn Lopez
• David McAlpin
• Summer Miller
• Celso Reyes
• Peter Rinkleff
• Jill Shipman
• Torge Steensen
• Annie Worden

Christopher Bruton 
MS student in Geophysics Volcano Seismology

B.Sc. (Hons.) in Geophysics, 2009, University of Calgary
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320

Phone:  907-474-5517     Fax:  907-474-5618    

E-mail: cpbruton [at] alaska [dot] edu [Home Page]

Christopher was born and raised in Alberta, Canada. His background is in exploration geophysics, but he decided to switch gears and study volcanoes in Alaska. Here he is developing an improved method of automatically classifying volcanic earthquakes.

Advisors: Michael West

Helena Buurman 
Ph.D. student in Geophysics Volcano SeismologyBSc. (hons)
Geophysics, University of Edinburgh
M.S. in Geophysics (Volcano Seismology) 2009, University of Alaska FaibranksGeophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks

903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320
Phone:  907-474-7309     Fax:  907-474-5618    

E-mail: helena [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu

Helena is persuing a career that would land her in a volcano observatory. UAF for me is a great balance of research, monitoring and fieldwork. Living in Alaska is fun too. Sometimes I get moose in my garden.

Advisors: Michael West , Stephanie Prejean, Jeffrey T. Freymueller, Glenn Thompson

Nicole DeRoin 
Ph.D. student in Geophysics Volcano Seismology
B.S. in Physics from Hastings College

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320
Phone:  907-474-5517     Fax:  907-474-5618   
E-mail: nderoin [at] alaska [dot] edu

Nicole has been working on projects involving seismology combined with visual observations to better understand volcano phenomena.  Currently she studies rockfalls at Augustine, using seismic data and webcams.“I  think Alaska is a great place to be a student; the summers are great for hiking and kayaking, and winters are good for getting research done.  I've also had the opportunity to do fieldwork and help with installing seismic instruments at Okmok and Augustine volcanoes, which were both great experiences.”

Advisors: Steve McNutt , Doug Christensen, Michael West, and Jeffrey T. Freymueller

Angela Ekstrand

 
MS student in Geophysics Remote Sensing

E-mail: ekstranda [at] gmail [dot] com

Ronni Grapenthin 
Ph.D. student in Geophysics Geodesy

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320

Phone:  907 474 7428     Fax:  907-474-5618   
E-mail: ronni [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu [Home Page]

After failing as a rock star and getting a MS in Computer Science, Ronni escaped the prospect of becoming a software developer involved in more or less exciting projects that are more or less relevant by moving on to more grad school. Geophysics seemed like the perfect combination of his interests in signal processing, programming and field work. Alaska then added the necessary sense of adventure to the whole undertaking. And what's better then living in a dry cabin in a sometimes really cold desert squatting mosquitoes during the long summer days or stalking moose under the aurora?

In his current work Ronni focuses on volcano deformation which he studies with geodetic tools such as GPS and various modeling and signal processing methods. General questions to be answered during his thesis work include what GPS can tell us about the short term evolution of surface displacements during volcanic crises and how we can separate various signal sources that are superimposed in one GPS time series. Case studies include the 2009 Mt. Redoubt eruption in Alaska and the Bezymianny volcano in Kamchatka, Russia which he studies as part of the PIRE project.

During his time at UAF Ronni got to do fieldwork in various regions in Alaska such as the Kenai Peninsula, the St. Elias Mountains, or the Glenn Highway which in fact is so gorgeous that it needs to be mentioned. His repeated visits to Kamchatka had him spent multiple weeks at the volcanoes Bezymianny, Karymsky, Mutnovski and Goreli.

Before coming to Alaska Ronni had already developed an interest in crustal deformation due to surface loads which resulted in the the simulation tool CrusDe which he continues to improve during his time here. He also thought it would be a good thing for incoming students to learn how that whole programming thing works which resulted in the Beyond the Mouse course..

Advisors: Jeffrey T. Freymueller, Chris Larsen, Doug Christensen, Ed Bueler

Sarah Henton 
Ph.D. student in geophysics Volcanology (Experimental Petrology/ Geology)
BSc Geosciences, The Open University, UK
BA Politics and Geography, University of New castle upon Tyne, UK

Reichardt Building Room 308,
900 Yukon Drive, P.O. Box 755780, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5780
Phone:  907-687-7591    
E-mail: shenton [at] alaska [dot] edu

My research at UAF is focused on understanding the geothermobarometry of deposits from the 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska. I also dabble with other other volcanoes, including Redoubt (Alaska) and Soufriere Hills (Montserrat). I mainly use techniques from petrology, experimental petrology and x-ray spectroscopy. I decided to come to Alaska because it offered an unparalleled opportunity to combine graduate studies with operational volcano monitoring through AVO. There really is no better place that Alaska to get up close and personal with volcanoes. The other things i love about being at UAF and in Fairbanks is the totally laid back life style, lack of traffic, 5 minute commute to work, and the weird and wonderful people i get to interact with on a daily basis.

Advisors: Jessica Faust Larsen, Jeffrey T. Freymueller, Ken Severin, Michelle Coombs, Pavel Izbekov

Taryn Lopez
Ph.D. student in environmental chemistry 
Volcanic gas chemistry

M.S. Geology, Michigan Technological University, 2006
B.S. Geology, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, 2003

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320

Phone:  907-474-5713     Fax:  907-474-5618   
E-mail: tlopez [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu

Taryn's primary research project involves measuring the volcanic gases emitted at Bezymianny volcano (Kamchatka, Russia) and using the chemical signatures of these emissions to answer answer questions about the subsurface system. She is also interested in developing new tools at AVO for monitoring volcanic gases in the North Pacific. For example, she has been working on a project to validate the OMI satellite sensor' measurements of volcanic SO2 and to develop a method to integrate these satellite measurements into the AVO gas database.

Advisors: Cathy Cahill, Jonathan Dehn, Cindy Werner, Bill Simpson, Rainer Newberry

David McAlpin 
Ph.D. student in geology Volcanic Hazards

Looking at the lahar that came down the Drift river, using a multisensor approach to get volume est.

Advisors: Jim Begét

Summer Miller
MS student in geophysics Geodesy
B.S. Geology, 2005, University of California at Santa Barbara

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320
Phone:  907-474-5997     Fax:  907-474-5618    

E-mail: summer [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu

Summer is studying deformation on Okmok volcano using a combination of InSAR and GPS processing. She is interested in using both techniques to better constrain deformation from the 2008 eruption to present day. She has always had a fascination with volcanoes and earthquakes and continues to be intrigued by associated processes.

Advisors: Jeffrey T. Freymueller, Franz Meyer, Don Atwood
 

Celso Reyes 
Ph.D. student in geophysics Volcano Seismology
B. S. 2002 Geology (summa cum laude), Northern Arizona University
A.A. 1991 Computer Science, Miami-Dade Community College

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320
Phone:  907-474-5517     Fax:  907-474-5618   
E-mail: cgreyes [at] alaska [dot] edu [Home Page]

Celso came up from the deserts and highlands of Arizona to study volcano seismicity in Alaska's volcanic playground. While at NAU, Celso received a space grant to work on an instrument that would measure heat flow on the surface of Venus. For his current project, he has developed MATLAB codes to help with seismic waveform analysis and is applying those codes to the problem of tremor location.

With AVO, he has had the opportunity to travel the volcanic arc from Redoubt to Kiska and has been involved with numerous volcanic eruption responses.

Advisors: Steve McNutt, Jessica Faust Larsen, Doug Christensen, Michael West

Peter Rinkleff
Ph.D. student in geology Volcanology and Atmospheric Remote Sensing

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320
Phone:  907-474-1157     Fax:  907-474-5618   
E-mail: prenkleff [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu

Peter is involved with the collection and characterization of volcanic aerosols, development and deployment of aerosol impactors.

Advisors: Cathy Cahill, Jonathan Dehn, Ken Dean, Dave Schneider

Jill Shipman 
Ph.D. student in geophysics
B.S., 2001 University of Texas-Dallas

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320
Fax:  907-474-5618   
E-mail: jshipman [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu

Jill is looking at populations of different crystals' petrological signatures and what they tell us of volcanic processes such as transport times. Jill also works on the PIRE project

Advisors: John Eichelberger, Pavel Izbekov

Torge Steensen 
Ph.D. student in Geophysics Remote Sensing
MSc, United Kingdom

BSc, Germany

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320
Phone:  907-474-6032    
E-mail: tsteensen "at" gi.alaska.edu

"Torge previously graduated in Germany (BSc) and the United Kingdom (MSc), looking for a way to apply remote sensing to natural hazards. As a Remote Senser, his field areas stretch from is Sarychev Peak, in the Russian Kurile Islands, over the Aleutian Arc all the way to Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. While at UAF, he is concentrating on the remote sensing of volcanic eruptions, improving capabilities of detecting erupted ash masses and validating/improving ash dispersion forecast models."

Advisors: Peter Webley, Dave Schneider, Jim Begét, Martin Stuefer

Annie Worden
M.S. student in geology Remote Sensing
B.S. Geology, 2007, North Dakota

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
903 Koyukuk Drive, P.O. Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320
Phone:  907-474-6839     Fax:  907-474-5618   
E-mail: akworden "at" gi.alaska.edu

Annie is working with volcano remote sensing, thermal research in particular. Her field site is in Stromboli, Italy

Advisors: Jonathan Dehn, Peter Webley, Doug Christensen