- What we do is we look
at trapped inclusions
of the mineral quartz inside
of the minerals garnet.
And so we look for metamorphic garnets
and metamorphic rocks that
have tiny inclusions of quartz,
kind of like a bubble of quartz
that when the garnet crystal
grew, it enveloped that quartz.
And there's a technique using light energy
on a special microscope
to measure the pressure
that the garnet surrounding the quartz
is actually imposing
on the quartz crystal,
and that pressure is a record
of how deep the rocks were
when those garnet crystals grew.
So it's a new way of studying the burial
or the depth that rocks experienced
when they went through
this high temperature,
high pressure metamorphic process.
- I was interested in research.
I was really interested in, I
don't know, getting hands-on.
I learn a lot better hands-on
and with someone just one-on-one going,
"Hey, what do you think about this?"
It's better than just sitting there.
I can read a textbook, I can take a test,
but I think research is a good opportunity
to actually do the things you're studying.
- Most of our students get involved
in research to some
degree, and so they're able
to do some fairly in-depth
research projects,
a lot of them out in the field.
And it's sort of a wonderful experience
to be able to teach undergraduate
students in the field,
have them sort of apply
what they've been learning
in the classroom.
- People care in this department.
They care about your
professional development
and they care about your
personal development.
It's pretty nice being part
of a community like that
where someone around here has an answer
and they're willing to give it to you
and help you through whatever professional
or academic question you may have.
