Meghan Brown:  I am originally from Indianapolis, IN, but found a new home in Eugene after I completed my BS in Earth Sciences and Geography at UO in 2023. As an undergraduate, I assisted in research monitoring and quantifying Aral Seabed Afforestation with Dr. Kate Shields. Since then, I have worked as a GIS Specialist making critical incident maps for schools across the United States. I am beyond excited to return to UO as a PhD student working with Susheel Adusumilli on research related to glacial melt and its impact on coastal communities. In my free time, you can find me at the ceramic studio, with my knitting group, or playing Wii games.

David McCurdy grew up in San Diego, California. He received his B.S. from the University of California Santa Cruz. During this time David worked as an undergraduate researcher in the Hain biogeochemistry lab where he used numerical models to investigate orbital effects on upwelling over the Southern Ocean in order to gain insight into the glacial-interglacial cycles of the late Pleistocene. David will be starting his PhD at the University of Oregon with Dr. Chris Poulsen. David’s research interests include climate dynamics, paleoclimatology, physical climatology and numerical modeling. In his free time David enjoys cycling, playing piano, surfing and community service.

Ally Stark:  I grew up in Overland Park, Kansas.  I have a BS in Geosciences from the University of California, San Diego and an MS in Earth Sciences from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where I conducted a time-series analysis of the recent eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland using Re-Os isotopes.  I’m looking forward to continuing to study volcanoes as a PhD student with Dr. Joe Dufek.  In my free time, I enjoy exploring the outdoors, hanging out with friends, eating lots of food, and relaxing at home.

Annie Thompson:  I’m from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and I’m starting my PhD at UO with Leif Karlstrom and Joe Dufek. I’m interested in the subsurface dynamics of volcanoes, and I look forward to exploring this topic through numerical modeling. When I’m not working, I spend my time going outside, looking at rocks, watching movies, and drawing. I also love being in the field, and I’m excited to explore Oregon. For my bachelor’s I studied math at UT Austin and I just completed my masters in geomorphology at ASU with Kelin Whipple.