Research Group

I’ve worked with great groups of undergraduate student researchers at Montana State, the University of Arizona, and now Idaho State on projects from the Beartooth Mountains of Montana to the Malargüe basin of Argentina.

My current group consists of three students, who are assessing Mesozoic terrane accretion/translation in Chile using the forearc basin record.

---

Parker Hazelbush

(Anticipated BS Spring 2026)

Parker is a Senior at ISU in the Geology major. He recently conducted fieldwork in South America and is working on interpreting the evolution of Mesozoic deep water deposits in coastal Chile using field-based sedimentology and his paleontological expertise (see some spectacular crinoids if you zoom in on his hand specimen above). He’s interested in entering the mining industry following completion of his degree.

---

Amarissa Cramer

(Anticipated BS Spring 2027)

Amarissa is a Junior in the Geology major at ISU. She recently dated zircons from Mesozoic sandstones in Chile via U-Pb geochronology at the University of Arizona LaserChron Center, and she’s working on assessing what they can tell us about the history of terrane accretion (or lack thereof) along the western margin of South America. She’s interested in pursuing a Masters in geosciences and gaining more international experience in the field.

---

Tiana Hursh

(Anticipated BS Spring 2027)

Tiana is a Junior at ISU in the Geological Engineering major. She conducted fieldwork in South America in winter 2025/2026 and is now preparing zircon for LA-ICP-MS analysis at ISU on our new triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. She’ll be presenting her results at ISU RCWS 2026 and GSA Connects 2026. Tiana is interested in pursuing graduate study in geosciences and working on engineering solutions to groundwater challenges.

---

Photos of current and former students in action.

---