Team

ME 🙂

Patricia “Trish” Gregg
I believe that teamwork and collaboration are incredibly important. Working as a member of a team to solve challenging problems is what makes science fun for me. I’m incredibly fortunate to work with several outstanding young scientists who have inspired my science and thinking immeasurably. These amazing students and postdoc are outstanding in scholarship, citizenship, and teamwork. They make my research group what it is, and are why I am so excited to go to campus and do science every day.

Our goal as a team is to push the boundaries of our scientific understanding while creating a collaborative and inclusive learning environment. Our team champions diversity and firmly believes that the most exciting scientific advancements come from tackling a problem from different perspectives. We all have diverse backgrounds and skills to bring to the table and strive to support and advocate for one another, providing encouragement during difficult times and celebrating each other’s successes.

POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS

Dr. Valentina Romano
Ph.D. Sapienza University of Rome
Email: vroman@illinois.edu
Visiting Scholar & Postdoctoral Researcher
Sapienza University of Rome
Research Areas:
Reactive transport modeling
Geodynamic models of mantle melt generation and migration
Marine Geophysics and Geodynamics
Petrologic modeling

GRADUATE STUDENTS

John “Jack” Albright
Ph.D. Student
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
B.A. Geology, Minor: Math, Pomona College
Email: johnaa2@illinois.edu
Personal Webpage
Research Areas:
Statistical Data Assimilation
Geodynamic models of unresting volcanoes
Volcano Forecasting techniques

Riley Balikian
Ph.D. Student
Visiting Senior Scientific Specialist: Geophysicist & Hydrogeologist, Illinois State Geologic Survey
B.S. Physics: Geophysics, Minor: Spanish, Wheaton College
M.S. Environment and Resources, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Email: balikian@illinois.edu
Personal Webpage
Research Areas:
Hazard mitigation
Urban and Regional Planning

Haley Cabaniss
Ph.D. Candidate
B.S. Geology, College of Charleston
Email: cabanis2@illinois.edu
Personal Webpage
Research Areas:
Thermomechanical modeling of caldera systems
Marine Geophysics and Geodynamics
Model-data fusion
Volcano forecasting techniques

Robert “Robby” Goldman
Ph.D. Student
Illinois Distinguished Fellow
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
B.A. Geology, Pomona College
Email: rgoldma3@illinois.edu
Personal Webpage
Research Areas:
Geodynamic models of volcano evolution
Dike propagation
Volcano flank eruptions

Yan Zhan
Ph.D. Candidate
NASA Earth & Space Sciences Fellow
B.S. Geochemistry, Peking University
M.S. Structural Geology, Peking University
Email: yzhan3@illinois.edu
Personal Webpage
Research Areas:
Statistical Data Assimilation
Volcano Forecasting Methods
Finite element methods

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Brooke Dykstra
Major: B.S. Geology
Expected Graduation: May 2021
Email: bad2@illinois.edu
Research Areas:
Mid-continent uplift and plateau development
Finite element modeling
Rhyolitic eruption styles – Mono-Inyo Craters of Long Valley

Rishi Chandra
Major: B.S. Physics / Planetary Science
Expected Graduation: May 2021
Email: rchand26@illinois.edu
Research Areas:
Planetary volcanology
Dike emplacement at Elysium Mons, Mars
Finite element modeling

Ariana Echevarria
Major: B.S. Geology
Expected Graduation: December 2020
Email: arianae2@illinois.edu
Research Areas:
Planetary Volcanology
Thermal evolution and volcanic history of Io
MELTS

Lily Lucas
Major: B.S. Geology
Expected Graduation: May 2023
Email: lclucas2@illinois.edu
Research Areas:
Volcanology
Volcano-glacier interaction
Finite Element Modeling
Aleutian Arc Volcanoes

ALUMNI

~~ Graduate Student Alumni ~~

Therese Monical
M.S. Geophysics 2017
Thesis: A statistical data assimilation investigation of the prolonged unrest of Long Valley Caldera

~~ Undergraduate Student Alumni ~~

Phillip Moore
B.S. Geology, 2015
Current Position: M.S. student in Geology, Northern Illinois University

Ashly Hunt
B.S. Geology, 2016
Senior Thesis:  Near-Axis Seamounts as Probes of Mantle Melting at the East Pacific Rise
Current Position: Environmental Site Assessor, Illinois State Geologic Survey, Champaign, IL

Tiffany Vlahopoulos
B.S. Geology, 2016
Senior Thesis: Elastic block modeling of fault slip rates across Southern California using updated GPS velocity data from the San Bernardino Mountains and vicinity
Current Positions: Visiting Environmental Assessments Specialist, Illinois State Geologic Survey, Champaign, IL
Ph.D. student in Hydrology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sean Griffin
B.S. Geology, 2017
Senior Thesis: Investigating volcanic unrest and eruption potential at the Three Sisters Volcanoes in the Oregon Cascades
Current Position: Geologist at Citizen Energy, Denver, CO

Andrew Birkey
B.S. Geology, 2017
Senior Thesis: The formation of Procellarum Basin on the Moon through large-scale caldera volcanism
Current Position: Ph.D. Student in Geophysics, University of California at Riverside