My Ph.D. project focuses on the crystal plastic deformation of amphibole, working in the DUSC Lab at the University of Southern California. Amphibole is a major constituent of Earth's lower crust, so an understanding of its mechanical behaviour (using both naturally and experimentally deformed samples) is crucial for generating reliable predictions of crustal deformation.

My Master's project was on the microphysical mechanisms underpinning transient dislocation creep of olivine, in the Microgeodynamics Group at the University of Cambridge. I explored the effect of environmental factors, such as oxygen fugacity, on transient viscosity evolution of the upper mantle in response to stress changes.

I have carried out experiments using a nanoindenter (investigating dislocation interactions in blueschist minerals), a deformation-DIA apparatus (exploring the effect of mineral structure on dislocation glide), and a Kawai-type multi-anvil apparatus (pictured; synthesising fine-grained aggregates).

My Ph.D. field sites are in the West Troms Basement Complex, Northern Norway. In this region, Neoarchaean tonalites host Palaeoproterozoic mafic dyke swarms. The dykes have undergone amphibolite-facies metamorphism and exhibit variable degrees and styles of deformation. These exposures offer key insights into the deformation of Earth's lower crust.

I have a collection of (uncurated) thin-section photomicrographs from my undergraduate project on the Barrovian zones in the Grampian Highlands of Scotland.

Microstructural analysis of both naturally and experimentally deformed amphibole is in progress!