GeoPRISMS AGU Prize for Outstanding Student Oral and Poster Presentations

Student oral and poster competitions were organized each year at the AGU Fall Meeting by the GeoPRISMS Office to highlight the important role of student research in accomplishing GeoPRISMS-related science goals and encourage cross-disciplinary input. The contest was open to all students working on topics closely related to GeoPRISMS or MARGINS science objectives. A dedicated poster session was hosted at the GeoPRISMS AGU Townhall Meeting to provide the entrants an additional chance to meet with the judges, network with their peers, and receive feedback on their work. From 2010 to 2019, over 200 students have entered the competition – among them, 20 have been awarded with a $500 cash prize for best oral or best poster presentation, and 40 have received honorable mentions.

Competition guidelines

Student Eligibility

Any student working on science topics related to the objectives of MARGINS or GeoPRISMS was eligible to participate. Students did not have to be working on a MARGINS- or GeoPRISMS-funded project to enter the competition. Students from the international community, as well as from the U.S., were encouraged to apply. Previous GeoPRISMS Student Prize winners were not eligible to enter the competition.

Presentations

Presentations were judged throughout the AGU meeting.

Notification

GeoPRISMS Student Prize winners and honorable mentions were notified after the meeting and highlighted in the GeoPRISMS website and social media. Their institutions were also be notified of their achievement.

Judges

Highly qualified judges volunteered their time to evaluate students’ presentations throughout the meeting. Their expertise helped evaluate good science, and contributed to the success of the Student Prize competition.

More information about GeoPRISMS Student Prize winners and honorable mentions

2019

Poster Presentation Winner

Kayleigh Harvey

Constraining the temperature conditions of paleo-subduction plate interfaces, Part I: Petrologic case study of the Rio San Juan Complex (Dominican Republic)

Coauthor: B. Dragovic, S. Penniston-Dorland, I. Wada, X. Zhou, P. van Keken, R. Bodnar

From the Judges: “very clear presentation, a nicely laid-out poster, and interesting results with a clear set of questions raised for future work. She was concise and organized in her presentation “”well spoken and knowledgable about their subject material, calm with presenting the science”

I cannot begin to express how humbled and grateful I am to have received the GeoPRISMS best student poster award. GeoPRISMS’s continued dedication to fostering both interdisciplinary science and student research will remain a hallmark of its legacy. I am thankful for the opportunities that I have had to engage with this community, and I look forward to participating in future initiatives and programs.Kayleigh

Oral Presentation Winner

Hannah Tilley

3D seismic investigation of sedimentation and deformation in the Tuaheni Basin, Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand

Coauthors: G.F. Moore, S. Han, N.L. Bangs, R. Arai, P. Barnes and the NZ3D Team

From the Judges:“one of the best subduction zone talks at the AGU meeting this year””Hannah is an excellent speaker and it was easy to follow her talk. clear slides carefully prepared with just enough and not too much information. Hannah’s talk centered on an amazing new 3D seismic reflection data set collected on the Hikurangi Margin of New Zealand, with a focus on the structure of the Tuaheni Basin. This is an immense and complicated data set and Hannah excellently interpreted the main features while tying in the interpretation with data from nearby wells and past studies. Overall a winning presentation and a stellar GeoPRISMs student.”

I am pleasantly surprised and very grateful to receive this GeoPRISMS award. I am very thankful for the GeoPRISMS community and the opportunities it has given me as a student. I look forward to being involved in research that builds upon the GeoPRISMS legacy and the great work that has come out of this program.Hannah

Honorable Mention

Christine Chesley

Mapping the along-strike fluid distribution of the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand using marine electromagnetic methods

Coauthors: S. Naif, K. Key

From the Judges:“This was one of the clearest, most coherent presentations of all the student presentations I attended. It was well motivated, data collection, analysis, and interpretation were well described, and the conclusions were well supported by the presentation. Nicely done.””Christine did a great job presenting the result. The presentation was visually very clear and verbally informative. She effectively kept eye contact with the audience. I enjoyed hearing her talk.”

Since I started grad school, GeoPRISMS has been a welcoming, collaborative, and scientifically-stimulating community that I’ve looked forward to participating in. I am truly elated to have received this recognition for work that I feel so passionately about and that is relevant to the very program that helped birth it. The necessity of programs like GeoPRISMS that encourage and support early-career scientists cannot be overstated!Christine

Honorable Mention

Ricardo Garza-Giron

Hidden earthquakes as a tool to conduit evolution during an explosive eruption

Coauthors: E. Brodsky, Z. Spica, M. Haney

From the Judges:“Ricardo knows how to present. He drew us in with a great set-up and guided us through his results in a way that we all reached his conclusions together. Excellent use of pug imagery. His command on his science is clear. The slides were clean, the thinking logical, and the conclusions impactful. The text was concise and to the point. He did a great job with the questions.”

Thank you very much to the judges and the GeoPRISMS community for recognizing the work that me and my collaborators have done. I am humbled to be chosen for an honorific mention among so many talented students and I look forward to seeing more of the amazing science that comes out of this great community. There is still a lot more to do, and I cannot see a better way forward than working together!Ricky

Honorable Mention

Caroline Seyler

Fracture energy of Cascadia input sediments integrated into a global compilation

Coauthors: J.D. Kirkpatrick, H.M. Savage, T. Hirose, D. Faulkner

From the Judges: “Caroline presented a well-motivated story for her study. Her introduction framed a broader scientific question, and zoomed in to show how she was going to address it with her work. She had compelling, nicely designed plots to support her results, and made compelling interpretations to address her original question. Caroline demonstrated breadth in her presentation of her poster, and through questioning, showed she has a strong understanding of her method, scientific question, study, and broader field.”

I’m so grateful to have my research recognized by GeoPRISMS. I appreciate all the work done by the organizers and judges of this program, and I’m looking forward to future involvement with the GeoPRISMS communityCaroline

Honorable Mention

Andrew Gase

Subduction of rough seafloor facilitates sediment underplating beneath a low velocity prism

Coauthors: N. Bangs, H. Van Avendonk, T. Luckie, D. Barker, D. Bassett, K. Jacobs, D. Okaya, S. Henrys, S. Kodaira, G. Fujie, Y. Yamamoto, A. Arnulf, L. Wallace, D. Saffer

From the Judges: “Andrew is using high-quality seismic data to study the potential structural control on the generation of slow-slip events at the Hikurangi margin. He is knowledgable about his research and can answer questions effectively.”

It is an honor to receive this recognition. Thank you to the judges and all who support GeoPRISMS programs for students!Andrew
2018

Poster Presentation Winner

Kirstie Haynie

Assessing the Generation of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake in Terms of the Dynamics of a Fore-arc Sliver System

Coauthor: M. Jadamec

From the Judges: “Kristie gave an excellent poster presentation. She explained her research clearly, motivated her work with important implications, had a well designed poster and answered questions well. She had all the components of a great presentation and exhibited a deep understanding of her research.”

I am extremely honored and excited to have received the GeoPRISMS best student poster award for my 2018 AGU presentation! I am thankful that the GeoPRISMS community is dedicated to supporting student research and interdisciplinary collaboration. I look forward to future involvement within the Subduction Cycles and Deformation Initiative.Kirstie

Oral Presentation Winner

Rachel Marzen

Refraction seismic constraints on less extensive CAMP magmatism localized by prior extension in the Southeastern United States

Coauthors: D. Shillington, D. Lizarralde, S. Harder, J. Davis

From the Judges:“Rachel gave a very clear presentation on the influence of CAMP on the evolution of the South Georgia Rift Basin. The research problem was well stated”; “This talk was clearly articulated”; “Rachel has command over the seismic refraction approach. She spoke clearly and with confidence.”

I am so grateful to have received this award. The research goals posed by GeoPRISMS have impacted my research from the time I was an undergraduate, and GeoPRISMS events have been a valuable source of feedback and insights from other people’s work. I look forward to continued engagement with this amazing and diverse community. Rachel

Honorable Mention

Tiegan Hobbs

Investigating apparent anticorrelation of repeating aftershocks and afterslip in Nicoya, Costa Rica

Coauthors: D. Yao, A.V. Newman, Z. Peng, M. Protti

From the Judges:“Clear and polished presentation; excellent graphics/slides; effectively organized and easy to follow; clear command of the science and goals of the study; presented the significance of the main findings at the beginning and end of the presentation clearly and effectively; the results of the work were very impactful to the community; the student handled questions excellently by clarifying the question for the audience and answering in a clear and thoughtful manner;”

I am incredibly appreciative to receive an honorable mention for my presentation at AGU, given the excellent work being done by so many students in GeoPRISMS. Thank you to the organizing committee, and all those who volunteer as judges. I look forward to continuing to participate in the GeoPRISMS community.Tiegan

Honorable Mention

Andrew Gase

Crustal structure of the northern Hikurangi margin and Bay of Plenty from marine seismic reflection imaging and double-sided onshore-offshore seismic tomography

Coauthors:H. Van Avendonk, N. Bangs, D. Okaya, S. Henrys, D. Barker, K. Jacobs, S. Kodaira, G. Fujie

From the Judges:“This was a very crisp, clear, and efficient talk. Importance of studying northern Hikurangi margin was well established, and the new active source data (both reflections and velocities) were walked through in sequence to show interesting new observations throughout the subduction system” “Andrew gave a very competent talk summarizing early results from his analysis of SHIRE seismic reflection and refraction data traversing the northern Hikurangi margin. His talk covered well the background motivation for SHIRE, the new data acquired and results from his initial analysis.”

Thank you to all the judges and the GeoPRISMS community for supporting and highlighting graduate research. I am grateful for this recognition.Andrew

Honorable Mention

Brandon Shuck

From rifting to subduction: Evidence for the role of past tectonics influencing subduction initiation at the Puysegur Trench, New Zealand

Coauthors: S. Gulick, H. Van Avendonk, M. Gurnis, J. Stock, R. Sutherland, E. Hightower, J. Patel, S. Saustrup

From the Judges: “Brandon’s presentation was extremely well done.[…] He was cognizant of work being done in the same field area, as well as in different GeoPRISMS focus sites, which I think demonstrates a very mature sense of awareness. Very enthusiastic, interesting project, and excellent presentation.” “Knowledgable and engaging presentation of the results. […] Brandon sought out ways to combine multi-disciplinary constraints, consistent with the GeoPRISMS scientific goals”

I am very honored and greatly appreciate this recognition from GeoPRISMS. As a student, I feel exceptionally supported by the GeoPRISMS community and I am sincerely thankful for the fruitful collaborations and research expeditions made possible by GeoPRISMSBrandon

Honorable Mention

Emmanuel Njinju

Investigating seismic anisotropy beneath the Malawi Rift, East Africa with geodynamic modeling

Coauthors: D.S. Stamps, S. Fishwick

From the Judges: “Emmanuel had a great poster presentation, with a clearly defined problem, and was able to explain his methods and the importance of his project quite clearly.”

I am honored to have my research recognized by GeoPRISMS. I appreciate the efforts of the organizers of this program and the opportunity given to young scientists to participate. I look forward to continuing participation in GeoPRISMS research.Emmanuel
2017

Poster Presentation Winner

Elenora van Rijsingen

How does subduction interface roughness infuence megathrust earthquakes? Insights from natural data and analogue models

Coauthors: S. Lallemand, M. Peyret, F. Corbi, F. Funiciello, D. Arcay, A. Heuret

From the Judges: “Elenora has a thorough understanding of the methodology and handled questions and discussions quite effectively” “presentation covered an important topic of great interest to GeoPRISMS and the research used a clever blend of observation and analogue modeling. The student was enthusiastic and engaged very effectively with the audience. She handled questions very well and made her case with confidence” “This was one of the best posters I saw at the meeting”

I am very grateful and honored to receive this GeoPRISMS award! Sharing and discussing my research in an international and interdisciplinary community is already a pleasure, but being acknowledged like this makes it even better. The efforts from the GeoPRISMS community to support and acknowledge student research are great, and I hope there will be many more young researchers who can benefit from this in the futureElenora

Oral Presentation Winner

Natalie Accardo

The growth and interaction of large border faults in the Malawi Rift from 3D seismic refraction imaging

Coauthors: D.J. Shillington, J.B. Gaherty, C.A. Scholz, C.J. Ebinger, A.A. Nyblade, P.R.N. Chindandali, G. Kamihanda, T. McCartney, D. Wood, R. Wambura Ferdinand

From the Judges:“This was an *OUTSTANDING* talk. […] clearly introduced the tectonic area and why the region of study was important, explaining in detail the newly collected dataset and method of analyses, and exploring the key results and conclusions” “This presentation was a perfect combination of thoughtful design and prepared delivery, and it was the best talk I saw at the entire meeting” “really interesting and well-delivered talk”

I am very grateful to receive this great recognition by the GeoPRISMS program. I have always appreciated the fantastic opportunities for collaboration and research made possible by the GeoPRISMS organization. I look forward to participating in many GeoPRISMS opportunities in the futureNatalie

Honorable Mention

James Biemiller

The influence of tectonic inheritance on crustal extension style following failed subduction of continental crust: Applications to metamorphic core complexes in Papua New Guinea

Coauthors: S. Ellis, T. Little, M. Mizera, L Wallace, L. Lavier

From the Judges:“James gave an excellent oral presentation at AGU. He had well designed slides, gave a compelling motivation, spoke clearly and connected with his audience” “He presented exciting results with relevance to the GeoPRISMS community”

I am grateful and honored to receive this recognition from GeoPRISMS. I look forward to future participation in this important community organizationJames

Honorable Mention

Jessie Bersson

Explosive to effusive transition in intermediate volcanism: An analysis of changing magma system conditions in Dominica

Coauthors: L.E. Waters, H.M. Frey, K.P. Nicolaysen, M.R.F. Manon

From the Judges:“Jessie has an impressive knowledge of her field and an awareness of the implications of her work for the volcanic hazard faced by residents of the capital city of Dominica [..] This was an excellent undergraduate contribution “Jessie was an engaging speaker who presented her poster clearly. She did an impressive job answering questions and showed a depth of knowledge about her subject that was impressive for an undergraduate”

I am deeply honored to be recognized by the GeoPRISMS community, a program that so importantly promotes interdisciplinary discussion and supports student research.  I look forward to future collaboration and conversation with this dynamic communityJessie

Honorable Mention

Brandon Shuck

Constraints on mantle dynamics during Jurassic rifting in the ENAM area from seismic and petrological modeling of the oldest oceanic crust

Coauthors: H. Van Avendonk

From the Judges: “Brandon’s presentation was extremely well done.[…] He was cognizant of work being done in the same field area, as well as in different GeoPRISMS focus sites, which I think demonstrates a very mature sense of awareness. Very enthusiastic, interesting project, and excellent presentation.” “Knowledgable and engaging presentation of the results. […] Brandon sought out ways to combine multi-disciplinary constraints, consistent with the GeoPRISMS scientific goals”

I am ecstatic to have my research recognized by the GeoPRISMS community! I really appreciate the opportunity to contribute to a thriving group of talented scientists, and I look forward to ongoing involvement in the futureBrandon

Honorable Mention

Aude Lavayssiere

Imaging rifting at the lithospheric scale in the northern East African Rift using S-to-P receiver functions

Coauthors: C. Rychert, D. Keir, N. Harmon, , J. Hammond, M. Kendall, S. Leroy, C. Doubre

From the Judges: “Aude gave an excellent presentation, which generated a lot of interest” “spoke clearly and concisely. Great execution. Slides were well designed and to the point. Excellent job answering questions “

I am grateful and pleasantly surprised by this award. It is a great honor to have my work recognized by the GeoPRISMS community. I look forward for more exciting research and meetings!Aude
2016

Poster Presentation Winner

Dan Rasmussen

Run-up to the 1999 sub-plinian eruption of Shishaldin Volcano unveiled using petrologic and seismic approaches

Coauthors: Terry A. Plank, Diana C. Roman, Amanda C. Lough, Pete L. Stelling, Robert J. Bodnar, Erik H. Hauri

From the Judges: “Daniel gave a really terrific presentation and enthusiastically provided thoughtful answers to questions from audience around his poster” “true integrative combination of petrological, geochemical and geophysical data” “excellent presentation, with logical flow throughout, integrating many different types of observations to identify precursory signals in the run up to a well studied eruption”

I am honored to receive the GeoPRISMS student presentation award. GeoPRISMS is a fantastic program that brings together scientists from different disciplines, at all stages of their careers, to study the dynamic processes occurring at plate boundaries. I am grateful to be a part of this community.Dan

Oral Presentation Winner

Suzanne Birner

Records of upper mantle oxygen fugacity gleaned from high-density sampling of basalts and peridotites at ultraslow ridges

Coauthors: Elizabeth Cottrell, Jessica Warren, Katherine Kelley, Fred Davis

From the Judges:“Suzanne’s talk was polished and elegant” “She presented a geological mystery (the observation that ridge basalts tend to record higher fO2 than ridge peridotites) which she has resolved for rocks sampled at the Southwest Indian Ridge” “This was my favorite talk of the meeting!”

I’m honored to receive this recognition from GeoPRISMS! I very much appreciate everything GeoPRISMS does for the community, especially its dedication to helping students, and I look forward to further involvement with the GeoPRISMS community and related research in the future.Suzanne

Honorable Mention

Joshua Davis

Cold rocks make more melt: Numerical models of melt generation during continental extension

Coauthors: Luc Lavier

From the Judges:“Very organized and well-practiced talk” “Joshua was able to clearly explain the interesting and counterintuitive results of his research” “The rifting simulations were impressive and Joshua’s narration was seamless and confident.”

Thank you GeoPRISMS for this recognition. I’m honored to participate among this community and look forward to future collaborative efforts.Joshua

Honorable Mention

Helen Janiszewski

Shoreline-crossing shear-velocity structure of the Juan de Fuca Plate and Cascadia Subduction Zone from surface waves and receiver functions

Coauthors: Jim Gaherty, Geoff Abers, Haiying Gao

From the Judges:“Helen is very knowledgable about her research” “The project represents an important and novel contribution to imaging the structure of Cascadia, integrating onshore and offshore observations” “She really knows her material and is very clearly aware of the strengths and weaknesses of her work”

I am honored to have my research recognized within the GeoPRISMS community. I am grateful to the organizers of this program for their support of student research, and look forward to continuing participation in GeoPRISMS research.Helen

Honorable Mention

Hannah Mark

Seismic coupling at divergent plate boundaries from rate-and-state friction models

Coauthors: Mark Behn, Jean-Arthur Olive, Yajing Liu

From the Judges: “Extremely well constructed and delivered presentation” “Elegant explanation of the basis of this modeling study and the overall controls on seismic coupling” “[…] findings have implications for fault behavior associated with continental rifting”

I am honored to have my work recognized by GeoPRISMS, and I appreciate the great opportunities offered by the program for young scientists to participate. There’s so much interesting science that can be tackled in a multi-disciplinary community like this one, and I’m excited to see what new insights on plate boundary processes will come out of the next few years of research.Hannah

Honorable Mention

Sarah Jaye Oliva

Deciphering the role of fluids in early stage rifting from full moment tensor inversion of East African earthquakes

Coauthors: Cindy J. Ebinger, Steven W. Roecker, Derek B. Keir, Donna J. Shillington, Patrick Chindandali

From the Judges: “Sarah did a really nice job of explaining her work. It was also great to see how well she understood her methodology, and how much she is thinking about how to improve the work via more robust discussion of errors” “Sarah is very smart, explains her research extremely well and thinks “outside the box” for her interpretations” “Nice analysis and presentation of poster”.

I’m pleasantly surprised and honored to be recognized and I’m very thankful for the sense of community and the support that GeoPRISMS provides, especially to junior scientists like myself. I look forward to taking part in this community!Sarah
2015

Poster Presentation Winner

Zach Eilon

Seismic attenuation of teleseismic body waves in Cascadia, measured on the Amphibious Array

Coauthors: Geoffrey A. Abers

From the Judges: “Zach was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable” “I was impressed by the quality of figures, organization of the information and general presentation” “Very clear presentation”

I am very honored to have had my work selected from among all the fantastic research conducted within the GeoPRISMS community. I am thrilled that GeoPRISMS is so active in supporting and elevating the contributions of junior scientists and I am grateful to the community leaders who facilitate the program. I look forward to continuing fruitful research on the interesting margins of plates!Zach

Oral Presentation Winner

Allison Rubin

Constraining timescales of pre-eruptive events within large silicic volcanic centers

Coauthors: Kari M. Cooper, Adam JR Kent, Christy Till, Fidel Costa Rodriguez

From the Judges:“Excellent talk” “Clear, confident and professional presentation” “The speaker exhibited strong presence and maturity”

I am honored to have my work recognized by the GeoPRISMS community, and grateful for their efforts to support student research.Allison

Honorable Mention

Joel Edwards

Record of subducting topography revealed in 3D seismic imaging of Pleistocene unconformities, offshore Southern Costa Rica

Coauthors: Jared Kluenser, Eli Silver

From the Judges:“Fantastic talk” “His interpretation of the 3D MCS data was very exciting” “The research presented was thorough, sophisticated and presented in a logical manner”

I am certainly surprised by this award and really appreciate it. More importantly, I appreciate GeoPRISMS and the newfound community. There is loads of great science ongoing, and I look forward to joining in on the fun.Joel

Honorable Mention

Helen Janiszewski

Surface-wave imaging of the Juan de Fuca Plate and Cascadia Subduction Zone

Coauthors: Jim Gaherty, Geoff Abers

From the Judges:“Very nice talk!” “Slides were extremely comprehensible and logically ordered” “Presentation was clear, organized, and well illustrated”

I am deeply honored to have my work recognized, and I am grateful for the student opportunities that GeoPRISMS provides. I look forward to continuing research within this community in the future.Helen

Honorable Mention

Dylan Meyer

Methane hydrate formation in a saturated, coarse-grained sample through the induction of a propagating gas front

Coauthors: Kehua You, Taylor Borgfeldt, Peter Flemings, David DiCarlo, Timothy Kneafsey

From the Judges: “Dylan did a fantastic job presenting his poster” “Clearly explained the motivation, background, experiment design, results, and the importance of the study” “I learnt a lot about methane hydrates and how they form!”

It is a honor and privilege to have GeoPRISMS recognize the research I presented at the AGU 2015 Fall Meeting! I appreciated the opportunity to convey my research to this community and I continue to hold GeoPRISMS and the work it performs in high esteem.Dylan

Honorable Mention

Maureen Walton

Revisiting the 1899 earthquakes of Yakutat Bay, Alaska using new and existing geophysical data

Coauthors: Sean Gulick, Peter Haeussler

From the Judges: “Maureen did an excellent job communicating the context and significance of the work” “Excellent poster” “Clearly enthusiastic about the work” .

I am very grateful to be recognized among such a talented group of young, involved scientists. Thanks to the GeoPRISMS community for supporting my work and student research in general. I look forward to ongoing involvement with GeoPRISMS science.Maureen
2014

Poster Presentation Winner

Andrew Parsons

Microstructural analysis of the Greater Himalayan Sequence, Annapurna-Dhaulagiri Himalaya, central Nepal: Channel Flow and Orogen-parallel deformation

Coauthors: Richard J Phillips, GE Lloyd, MP Searle, RD Law

From the Judges: “Andrew was clearly an expert in his subject” “student did a super job” “well presented and clear poster on interesting, cutting edge study”

It is a privilege to have my work recognised by the scientific community. I am thankful to GeoPRISMS for providing this opportunity to showcase my work and I look forward to being involved in future GeoPRISMS initiatives.Andrew

Oral Presentation Winner

Kristina Walowski

Slab melting and magma generation beneath the southern Cascade Arc

Coauthors: Paul Wallace, Michael Clynne

From the Judges:“Kristina was poised and confident, with a great scientific result” “student demonstrated an expert’s knowledge of her research […] carried herself professionally and gave an overall excellent, timely presentation” “I enjoyed this presentation very much!”

I am very honored and excited to be recognized by GeoPRISMS! I greatly appreciate their effort to support graduate students and I look forward to my continued involvement in the GeoPRISMS community.Kristina

Honorable Mention

Yelebe Birhanu

GPS Constraints on the Spatial Distribution of Extension in the Ethiopian Highlands and Main Ethiopian Rift

Coauthors: Rebecca Bendick, Shimeles Fisseha, Elias Lewi, Robert Reilinger, Robert King and Gladys Kianji

From the Judges:“Yelebe presented his work very clearly to show significant results” “student had a very clearly presented poster and a very clear explanation of the implications of his work” “had fairly novel ideas about kinematics of extension […] and was willing to intelligently argue his point”

It is a great honor that this work has been recognized by GeoPRISMS among the wonderful work done by the community. I greatly appreciate the efforts made by GeoPRISMS to highlight, support and encourage student research. I look forward working with the GeoPRISMS community.Yelebe

Honorable Mention

Lucile Bruhat

Inverting for Shear Stress Rate on the Northern Cascadia Megathrust Using Geodetic Data

Coauthors: Paul Segall, Andrew Bradley

From the Judges:“Lucile gave a clear presentation” “presentation was clear and organized”

I am deeply honored and grateful that GeoPRISMS has recognized the research I presented at the AGU Fall meeting. Thank you for supporting student research! I really look forward to continuing collaborating with the GeoPRISMS community in the future.Lucile

Honorable Mention

James Farrell

Brittle deformation within the eastern North American volcanic margin: Paleostress inversion of faults in the Hartford basin 

Coauthors: Jean Crespi, Denali Ostebo, Megan Weingart

From the Judges: “Terrific poster that was presented in a completely clear and accessible way […] one of the best poster I saw at the meeting” “poster presentation was very nice laid out” “attractive poster with clearly laid out goals and results”

I am elated to hear there were so many participants in this contest; this is a great way to encourage students working on GeoPRISMS related research. I am thankful for the recognition and hope to see even more student involvement in the coming year.James

Honorable Mention

William Hutchison

Integrating remote sensing, field studies and CO2 surveys to unravel structural controls on fluid pathways at a young rift volcano 

Coauthors: David M. Pyle, Tamsin A. Mather, Juliet Biggs, Gezahegn Yirgu

From the Judges: “Excellent talk, relaxed but effective communication” “Excellent presentation […] William had engaging slides and expressed his results clearly and convincingly” “Speaker provided a good conceptual introduction and moved through all the results with good attention to detail”.

I am extremely grateful to have been recognised as part of the GeoPRISMS AGU student awards. This is a really exciting research community for young scientists to be involved in, and I look forward to future opportunities to collaborate and interact with GeoPRISMS science.William
2013

Poster Presentation Winner

JMuirhead

James Muirhead

The evolving contribution of border faults and intra-rift faults in early-stage East African rifts: insights from the Natron (Tanzania) and Magadi (Kenya) basins

Coauthors: Simon Kattenhorn, Edwin Dindi, Remigius Gama

From the Judges: “James demonstrated an excellent knowledge of regional geology, tectonics, and theory related to his research” “His poster was really well presented and articulated” “Significant and mature, integrative”

With such exciting research being conducted within the community, I am thrilled that GeoPRISMS has acknowledged this presentation. This work has greatly benefited from interactions facilitated through GeoPRISMS meetings, and I am grateful to GeoPRISMS for their efforts to support student research.James

Oral Presentation Winner

MNewcombe

Megan Newcombe

Chemical zonation in olivine-hosted melt inclusions: A record of syn-eruptive cooling

Coauthors: Alessandro Fabbrizio, Youxue Zhang, Chi Ma, Marion Le Voyer, Yunbin Guan, John Eiler, Alberto Saal, Edward Stolper

From the Judges:“This was a super high quality talk.” “The discovery of chemical zonation *inside* melt inclusions is new … she’s developing a crystal clock method for minutes-hours timescales!” “This is mature work…”

I was absolutely thrilled to hear that I had won this award! I am very grateful to the judges, and I would like to thank the GeoPRISMS community for supporting student research in this way.Megan

Honorable Mention

Suzanne Birner

Variations in Oxygen Fugacity among Forearc Peridotites from the Tonga Trench

Coauthors: Jessica Warren, Elizabeth Cottrell, Oscar Lopez, Fred Davis, Trevor Falloon

From the Judges:“Suzanne spoke clearly and with enthusiasm for the scientific problem that she is trying to understand” “The speaker gave a clinic on the subject matter”

It is an honor to be recognized by GeoPRISMS for this award. GeoPRISMS is a wonderful scientific community that I look forward to contributing to further in the future.Suzanne

Honorable Mention

Ryan Gallacher

Mantle structure beneath the Afar triple junction derived from surface wave tomography

Coauthors: Derek Keir, Nicholas Harmon, Graham Stuart, Sylvie Leroy, James Hammond, J-Michael Kendall, Atalay Ayele, Berhe Goitom, Ghebrebrhan Ogubazghi

From the Judges:“Ryan was engaging and enthusiastic” “He attracted a steady stream of visitors, including geochemists and geodynamicists”

I am honored that my research has been recognized by GeoPRISMS and would like to thank the community for their attempts to highlight and promote student research. I hope that I can continue to contribute to the GeoPRISMS community in the future.Ryan

Honorable Mention

Stephanie Grocke

Storage conditions and temporal signals for the Tara supereruption magma; insights from geothermobarometry and quartz chemistry 

Coauthors: Shanaka L. de Silva, Jan M. Lindsay, Rodrigo Iriarte, Elizabeth Cottrell, Benjamin Andrews

From the Judges:“Wow, Stephanie is a dynamite speaker” “Her Ti thermometry and diffusion profiling provided a novel clock for magma processes at this novel clock for magma processes at this super volcano”

I am honored and delighted to have my research recognized by the GeoPRISMS community. I really appreciate the efforts made by GeoPRISMS to support and encourage student research and I look forward to working within the GeoPRISMS community in the future.Stephanie

Honorable Mention

Jiyao Li

Constraints from seismic reflection signature on the seismogenic region in the Alaska/Aleutian subduction zone 

Coauthors: Anne Bécel, Donna J. Shillington, Mladen R. Nedimovic, Harold Kuehn, Spahr C. Webb

From the Judges:“Jiyao did a very good job highlighting the importance of understanding the plate interface… using seismic reflection images. These findings provide important constraints” “Jiyao had a very strong presentation that rivals work of postdocs”

It is quite an honor to have my research recognized by the GeoPRISMS community. GeoPRISMS provides wonderful opportunities to study the structure and dynamics process of plate margins. I am very grateful for the efforts made by the GeoPRISMS community to encourage and support student research.Jiyao
2012

Poster Presentation Winner

Samer Naif

An extensive melt layer beneath the oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary discovered by magnetotelluric data

Coauthors: Kerrey W. Key, Steven Constable and Robert L. Evans

From the Judges: Samer was highly knowledgeable about his techniques, data, uncertainty, and nuances in the interpretation. He provided a very coherent presentation that fits within the broader context of GeoPRISMS research.

It is a true honor to be acknowledged for this award. The diverse GeoPRISMS community has always inspired me with its wonderful and exciting research. I am grateful to have a platform that fosters and promotes student research.Samer

Oral Presentation Winner

Maryjo Brounce

Fe3+/SFe variation in Mariana arc and back-arc magmas and primary fO2 of the mantle wedge

Coauthors: Katherine A. Kelley and Liz Cotrell

From the Judges: Maryjo gave a great talk with clear and concise science, and good knowledge of the field. She provided an excellent explanation of a complex topic with important consequences for research relevant to GeoPRISMS.

I am honored to be recognized by the GeoPRISMS community and look forward to contributing to GeoPRISMS efforts in the future.  I am grateful for the support and encouragement that GeoPRISMS provides to promote student research and encourage excellence in communication.Maryjo

Honorable Mention

Erin DiMaggio

Late Pliocene – Early Pleistocene geologic history of Eastern Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia: implications for the evolution of the southern Afar depression and hominid paleoenvironments

Coauthors: Ramon Arrowsmith, Christopher J. Campisano, Kaye Reed and Alan Deino

From the Judges: Erin gave an excellent talk that included good graphics and a clear rational. She provided excellent context and discussion for science with important implications.

I am honored to have my research acknowledged by GeoPRISMS, and thank the entire community for their continued efforts to support and promote student research.Erin

Honorable Mention

Kristina Walowski

Understanding magma formation and mantle conditions in the Lssen segment of the Cascade Arc: Insights from volatile contents of olivine-hosted melt inclusions

Coauthors: Daniel J. Rasmussen, Paul J. Wallace and Michael A. Clynne

From the Judges: Kristina gave a complex and polished talk, very clearly presented. Her topic is timely and pertains to a GeoPRISMS area of focus.

I am delighted and very honored to be recognized by GeoPRISMS for my presentation. I greatly appreciate the efforts made by the GeoPRISMS community to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and thank them for their support of graduate student involvement.Kristina

Honorable Mention

Brad Pitcher

The evolution of the historic Mt. Etna magma plumbing system: A comprehensive in situ plagioclase compositional and isotopic study 

Coauthors: Wendy Bohrson and Marco Viccaro

From the Judges: Brad had one of the best undergrad studies I have seen. Excellent science along with good graphics; very energetic and engaging presentation.

Thank you so much for awarding me with this distinction. I am very grateful to be recognized by the esteemed community of GeoPRISMS scientists.Brad

Honorable Mention

D. Sarah Stamps

Minimal role of basal shear tractions in driving Nubia-Somalia divergence across the East African Rift System

Coauthors: Eric Calais, Giampiero Iaffaldano and Lucy M. Flesch

From the Judges: Sarah was animated, articulate and highly knowledgeable regarding the subject. She was able to provide thoughtful answers to many difficult questions.

I am honored that the presentation by my colleagues and me on dynamics of rifting in East Africa has been recognized  by the GeoPRISMS community. I look forward to continuing research aligned with GeoPRISMS initiatives using GPS observations and geodynamic modeling. Thank you!D. Sarah
2011

Poster Presentation Winner

Manahloh Belachew

Timing and dynamics of dike intrusions in Afar, Ethiopia: Faulting above dikes

Coauthors: Cindy Ebinger, Dustin Cote

From the Judges: “Demonstrated mastery of background, technique, and interpretation of seismic activity associated with dike emplacement in the East Africa Rift”

It is an honor that the presentation by my collaborators and me received this recognition from an outstanding community of earth scientists among the many excellent GeoPRISMS-related presentations at AGU. I look forward to continuing my research on GeoPRISMS related initiatives – Thank you!Manahloh

Oral Presentation Winner

Christie Regalla

An alternative mechanism for forearc subsidence along the Northeast Japan erosive margin?

Coauthors: Donald Fisher, Kevin Furlong, Eric Kirby

From the Judges: “Christine’s talk was well-delivered and well-structured”  “She smoothly presented her data, results, conclusions, and the significance of her results”

I am very honored and excited to be recognized by GeoPRISMS for this award.  The MARGINS/ GeoPRISMS community consists of an outstanding group of researchers and I have had positive, encouraging interactions with its members.  I am grateful that they continue to support student research and encourage the scientific development of its newer members. Christie

Honorable Mention

Brett Carpenter

Mineralogical Controls of Fault Healing in Natural and Simulated Gouges with Implications for Fault Zone Processes and the Seismic Cycle

Coauthors: Matt Ikari, Chris Marone

From the Judges: “The significance of this work is very high” “The student provided very detailed and thorough explanations and handled questions very effectively”

I am delighted and honored to receive recognition from the GeoPRISMS community. I want to commend GeoPRISMS by taking the initiative to promote and reward outstanding student research. I am happy to be part of the GeoPRISMS community as it has been rewarding and helpful for young scientists, like me, looking to promote and discuss their research.Brett

Honorable Mention

Jamie Howarth

Reconstructing earthquake-driven erosion in the Southern Alps, New Zealand using the sedimentary record

Coauthors: Sean Fitzsimons, Richard Norris, Geraldine Jacobsen,  Delia Strong

From the Judges: “Excellent poster and presentation in all respects’ “Presenter shows a strong command of knowledge and extensive breadth in research” “Excellent discussion”

I am honoured to have my research recognised by the GeoPRISMS community. I appreciate the efforts made by GeoPRISMS to promote and encourage graduate research and I look forward to working within the GeoPRISMS community in the future.Jamie

Honorable Mention

Jean-Arthur Olive

Evidence for Trench-normal Flow Beneath the Western Hellenic Slab from Shear-wave Splitting Analysis 

Coauthors:  Stephane Rondenay, Frederick Pearce

From the Judges: “Impressive depth of knowledge, focus on undersatnding observations and integration of data from other studies to provide and original interpretation” “Very rigorous” “It was outstanding”

I am very happy and grateful that our research has been recognized by GeoPRISMS.I truly appreciate the way this program brings together geodynamicists, seismologists and geochemists, and look forward to exciting new findings on plate-boundary processes.Jean-Arthur

Honorable Mention

Gemma Smith

Fault structure, properties and activity of the Makran Accretionary Prism and implications for seismogenic potential

Coauthors: Lisa McNeill, Timothy J Henstock, Jon Bull

From the Judges: “Best student talk I saw at the meeting”  “Quite impressed with her presentation, thoughtful suggestions, and knowledge of the field”

I feel very honoured to be recognised by GeoPRISMS in this way. Thank you for supporting student research!Gemma