Michala is from Mooresville, North Carolina and received a Bachelor’s in Geology from Appalachian State (in Boone, NC) in May 2022. She found the idea of using geology to make interpretations of the past to be fascinating, which is why Michala’s undergrad research dealt with geoarcheology, to look at humans’ past, and now her graduate research will focus on sedimentology, to reconstruct aspects of the Earth’s past.

Michala’s master’s research will be supported by the Chile Slope Systems project (which is nearing a decade of continuous funding!) and will focus on micro-scale (thin section-scale) characterization of sedimentary texture in deep-marine sedimentary rocks. After many years of field mapping and observation, we can now address questions such as: How does grain size, sorting, grain shape, etc. vary as a function of submarine channel stratigraphic architecture? Michala’s work will also evaluate recent advancements in photomicrographic image-analysis techniques. 

We are excited to have her on board. Welcome Michala!