Principal Investigator
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Dr. Lauren Miller (BS, PhD) attended Oklahoma State University as an undergraduate student and the University of California Santa Barbara as a graduate student. Prior to arriving at the University of Virginia in 2018, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University. Lauren uses the geological record to study how and why extinct and extant ice-sheets change, as well as to constrain coastal evolution, on timescales of decades to millennia. She is an advocate of meaningful collaboration, resourceful science, and holistic professional development. She enjoys walks in the forest, lazy weekend mornings, cycling, coffee, and hot sauce. Lauren is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Curriculum vitae | University profile |Google Scholar | ORCiD profile
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Graduate Researchers
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Santiago Munevar Garcia (BS) is a PhD candidate from Colombia assessing the role of topography on ice flow and retreat across time and space from deglaciated and currently glaciated landscapes. His work combines geophysical data with mathematical and statistical analyses to couple ice behavior with characteristics of the seafloor. Other research interests include the impact of retreating tropical glaciers on Andean communities who depend on these glaciers as their primary water source. Outside of research, Santi enjoys playing and watching fútbol, hiking, and seeing live music. Curriculum vitae
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Alejandra Vega González (BS) is a MS student from Puerto Rico working on records of ice rafted debris around Antarctica. Her work utilizes archived marine sediment cores and the use of methods such as CT scans to assess and map sedimentary structures. She is also interested in airborne geophysical data analysis and worked as a research intern for the COLDEX project prior to starting at UVA. Outside of research, she enjoys visiting coffee shops, trying out new recipes, hiking and is constantly looking for new experiences.
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Undergraduate Researchers
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Marion Donald is an undergraduate researcher from Charlotte, North Carolina majoring in Environment Science with minors in both Studio Art and Urban and Environmental Planning, hoping to discover creatives ways for global ecosystem sustainability through the intersection of these three. Currently focused on discovering the history of sub-glacial lakes through sediment analysis, she hopes to pursue a future in glacial and marine science. Marion is likely found running through the trails, daydreaming about powder days, chasing big waves on the river, climbing large rocks, or manifesting the prospect of post-adventure ice cream.
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Ella Sher is currently an undergraduate researcher, focusing on methods of automatically mapping stratigraphy from CT scans of sediment cores. They are studying Environmental Thought & Practice and History at UVA. They are interested in the bridge between the humanities and sciences, and how they can come together to more effectively propel climate knowledge. In their free time, Ella loves to run, hike, and play the trumpet.
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Adelle Thrush is an undergraduate researcher from West Virginia majoring in environmental science with a specialization in conservation and minoring in biology. Her research focuses on understanding glacial processes from ice-proximal glacimarine sediments around Antarctica. Some of her favorite things include the ocean, butterflies, reading, and matcha.
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Maya Weiss is an undergraduate researcher analyzing sediment samples from a suspected subglacial lake in the previously glaciated area of the Puget Lowland, Washington state. This work will contribute to evidence of subglacial lake preservation in the geologic record. She is majoring in Environmental Science and Environmental Thought and Practice. Outside of school, Maya enjoys going on outdoor adventures, playing for UVA's club water polo team, water color painting and enjoying a cup of tea.
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Graduate & Undergraduate Theses Alumni
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Delaney Buskard completed a senior thesis in the Department of Environmental Sciences titled "Grain-scale Characteristics of Meltwater Plume Deposits Offshore of Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica", results from which will be included in a peer-reviewed journal article to be submitted in 2021. Delaney is graduate student in the Master of Environmental Management program at Duke University.
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Allison Lepp finished her PhD in 2023, studying geological records of meltwater discharge into the ocean seaward of glaciers and ice sheets. Her dissertation focused on marine sediment cores and geological methods to connect grain-scale sediment characteristics to subglacial hydrology. Spurring from her time as a COVES Fellow, she is off to work in the science policy space after continuing work on Antarctic sediment cores until the end of 2023. Website
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Marion McKenzie finished her PhD in 2023, studying the impact of topography and geology on ice-flow dynamics across the deglaciated Northern Hemisphere. Her dissertation work utilizes a variety of materials ranging from outcrop sediment and geochronology samples to digital elevation models. She begins an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Colorado School of Mines in Fall 2023. Website
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Medha Prakash completed a senior thesis through the Distinguished Majors Program in May 2023 titled "Morphometric Comparisons of Terrestrial Eskers and Martian Ridges Reveal Pathways of
Persistent Meltwater Drainage". She graduated with majors in Environmental Sciences and Statistics and a minor in Astronomy. She is continuing studies at the University of Texas Austin as a PhD student. Website | LinkedIn |
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Jacob Slawson completed a senior thesis through the Distinguished Majors Program titled "Just a bump in the road? Assessing the influence of topographic relief on Cordilleran Ice Sheet flow from deglaciated landscapes" in May 2021. Currently, he is a PhD student at Colorado School of Mines.
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Tahi Wiggins completed a senior thesis through the Distinguished Majors Program in May 2023 titled "Morphometry of Glacial and Periglacial Lakes in Canada". She graduated with majors in Environmental Science and Global Studies. Currently, she is off to the University of Maine to combine glaciology and social science as a MS student.
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Former Researchers
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Mackenzie Carter investigated spatial differences in seafloor radiocarbon ages in the Antarctic Peninsula as an Undergraduate Researcher in 2019.
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Elizabeth Eareckson was an Undergraduate Researcher in 2021 who quantifyed magnitudes of grounding line retreat from ice-marginal landforms in the Ross Sea, Antarctica.
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Cesar Garcia is a former PhD student, LSAMP Bridge to Doctorate Scholar, and Dean's Doctoral Fellowship Scholar. His project focused on the causes of spatially variable seafloor radiocarbon ages on the Antarctic continental shelf. He holds a BS in Geology from Indiana University Northwest (2019) and has expertise in beach sediments and microplastics, and a plans to pursue a career in secondary education as an earth science teacher.
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Sarah Lang used trace elemental composition of glacial-marine sediment to track spatial variable sediment sources on the Antarctic continental shelf as an Undergraduate Researcher in the Spring 2020 semester.
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Catherine Leigh documented subglacial channel morphology and channel distribution across glaciated continental shelves as an Undergraduate Researcher in 2019.
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Hannah Leigh is worked on data preparation for bed roughness analysis on the deglaciated Antarctic continental shelf during the Fall 2020 semester.
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Sean Penaparanda mapped moraine morphology changes in the tri-state region of the US East Coast as an Undergraduate Researcher in Fall 2019 semester.
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Alma Salisbury was an undergraduate researcher during the 2021 summer as a VA-NC Alliance Scholar. Her research focused on the morphology of glacial and non-glacial lakes in Antarctica and the Americas. She is graduated in December 2021 from Elizabeth City State University with a degree in Biology, and currently works as a laboratory technician in Seattle.
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Amy Smith was Undergraduate Researcher in 2022 who studied grain-scale properties of glacial and glaciomarine sediments offshore of Thwaites Glacier. She plans on studying Environmental Sciences and Public Policy. She is interested in the intersection between science and policy and its use in the creation of effective solutions to environmental issues. In her downtime, she enjoys painting and hiking in her hometown of La Paz, Bolivia.
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Alan Zhai worked on spatial variability in roughness of a paleo-ice sheet bed as an Undergraduate Researcher during the Spring 2019 semester.
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