I am a structural geologist and my research focuses on the dynamic processes that deform Earth's crust into enormous mountain belts. I am also what you might call a "dirty boots" kind of geologist - I love being in the field. When away from campus, I'm usually working in one of my current research areas: the Desolation Wilderness Area of the central Sierra Nevada, upstate New York, and western Ireland. I actively incorporate students in my research activities. These experiences provide students with opportunities for travel and train them to think scientifically - to identify research questions, manipulate data, and interpret results. Student researchers working under my advisement are coauthors on 14 of my 23 professional meeting presentations in the past 5 years. Two of these student presentations won the prestigious Sigma Gamma Epsilon Austin A. Sartin Best Undergraduate Best Poster Award at annual meetings of the Geological Society of America(Klemm et al., 2013; Gunderson et al., 2012).