Wood Award Winners

Linus Resek

Linus is working with Dr. Megan Elwood Madden on a project entitled “Long-term rates of enhanced weathering in stamp sands”. The project will involve analyzing stamp sands with a variety of tools and methods such as X-ray diffraction, Raman Spectroscopy, a Keyence Digital Microscope, and sequential extractions of inorganic carbon.

Peter Mastriano

Peter is working with Dr. Tyrone Rooney on a project entitled “Magmatic Differentiation Examination of Ethiopian Low-Ti Flood Basalt Province.” The project entails using scanning electron microscopy along with x-ray fluorescence and laser ablation ICP-MS to estimate magma residence times of materials comprising the Large Igneous Province.

Makenzie Zimmer

Makenzie is working with Dr. Tyrone Rooney on a project entitled “Identifying the Mantle Source of Dikes in the Etendeka Province, Namibia.” The project will analyze samples of dike materials to identify a magmatic source using multi-collector ICP-MS. Prior to analysis the samples must be dissolved and passed through ion chromotagraphy columns to isolate Hf, Sr, Pb, and Nd.

Thomas Libecco

Thomas is working with Dr. Tyrone Rooney on a project entitled “Modelling magma evolution within the Etendeka Large Igneous Province.” Samples of dike materials from the Etendeka LIP will be powdered and prepared in thin section for XRF analysis. Thomas will also use the Magma Chamber Simulator software to model fractional crystallization within the reservoir.

Cornerstone Award Winners

Paige Sakorafos

Paige is working with Dr. Tyrone Rooney on a project entitled “Probing the source of the Etendeka Large Igneous Province using melt inclusions of olivine.” The project will involve identifying and selecting olivine crystals for laser ablation ICP-MS analysis, analyzing the output using QTegra and other software, and presenting the work at the upcoming MSU UURAF 2026 symposium.

Sadie Southwell

Sadie is working with Dr. Dalton Hardisty on a project entitled “Paleomagnetic and Paleoenvironmental Study of Two Lake Erie Sediment Cores.” The research focuses on generating high-temperature magnetic susceptibility and mineralogical data from sediment cores in Lake Erie to investigate whether the 4.2 ka aridification event influenced regional hydrology and sedimentation. Sadie plans to present results at UURAF 2026 and regional scientific meetings.

Dallas Storey

Dallas is working with Dr. Katie Maloney and Dr. Dalton Hardisty on a project entitled “Utilizing microfossils from Holocene sediments to better document the stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental evolution of Lake Erie.” The project involves extracting and identifying microfossils from sediment cores to assess past ecological conditions and potential hypoxic intervals in the lake. Dallas will use microscopy and image analysis techniques and integrate these findings with other geochemical studies, and plans to present the work at UURAF 2026 and the Midwest Geobiology Symposium.

Nguyen Dac Hung

Nguyen is working with Dr. Seth Jacobson on a project entitled “Lunar core and mantle abundances can be reproduced from a bulk-silicate Earth.” This computational project uses N-body simulations of planetary accretion and core–mantle differentiation to test scenarios for the Moon’s formation following a giant impact. This will build on previous work with analysis of simulation results and manuscript preparation. They plan to submit the work to the journal Icarus and present results at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Lily Velez Lewis

Lily is working with Dr. Susannah Dorfman on a project entitled “Effect of Spin Transition on the Elastic Properties of Bridgmanite.” The research examines how pressure-induced electronic spin transitions alter the bonding and elastic behavior of Earth’s most abundant lower-mantle mineral. The project involves preparing samples for diamond anvil cell experiments, collecting Raman spectroscopy data, and analyzing vibrational shifts. Lily plans to present results at UURAF 2026 and continue toward publication.

Travel Award

Alexandra Grabowski

Alexandra traveled to the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana to present their work entitled “Microbial Biofilms and Their Implications for Life Detection in Serpentinizing Systems.” Alexandra’s research mentor is Dr. Matthew Schrenk.

 

 

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