Research Experience for Undergraduates at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets in Ocean, Marine, and Polar Science
5/13 - 7-13

Description:
Conducted research under the supervision of mentors at Penn State. Analyzed radar data of the Northeast region of the Greenland Ice Sheet provided by the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CRESIS). Devised and implemented a method for determining the rate of mass input along the shear margins of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) through the utilization of a picker program developed at St. Olaf College and various other techniques. Wrote up the results in a paper, created a poster and gave an oral presentation on the project as the culmination of the summer program.

Undergraduate Research at University of California Berkeley in Berkeley, CA
Viability of Peak Ground Acceleration Threshold for Seismically Induced Liquefaction in Christchurch, New Zealand
2/13 - Present

Description:
Working on a project for professor Chi-Yuen Wang analyzing seismic data from the Magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand in September of 2010. A recently published paper looking at the event found a threshold Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) value for the triggering of liquefaction. A previous study however found no correlation between PGA and the occurence of liquefaction. My project involves interpolating seismic data collected at various stations in the area through a spline to match the locations of wells in the area in an attempt to plot various seismic properties (PGA included) against coseismic water level changes. Water level changes are directly related to liquefaction and finding a solid correlation between PGA and water level change would imply that the existence of a threshold PGA value is reasonable.