Research Statement

My research focuses on the relationship between faulting, folding, and natural fracturing in the earth’s crust, with an emphasis on predicting subsurface fractures using geologic data such as mechanical stratigraphy, bedding shape, and fault geometry. The tools I use are field characterization of fractures, geologic mapping, three-dimensional model building, and geomechanics. Nearly all of my research involves a significant field component, followed by analysis using structural concepts, statistical techniques, and numerical modeling to understand natural processes. I also utilize and develop a variety of software tools that implement geomechanics and physics based solutions to restore and forward model folds and faults in three dimensions. Such studies are useful for understanding fluid flow through fracture networks, which commonly occurs in subsurface aquifers, in large scale basins, and in hydrocarbon reservoirs.