Past Student Research
One of the strengths of the Geology program at the College of William and Mary is the requirement that students complete an independent research project during their senior year. The following students were engaged in senior research as part of the requirements for graduation.
Completed Honors projects are available through the Charles Center.
Check out recent student research featured in W&M News >>
Class of 2011 |
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| Caitlin Broznak | Studying Motivation and Academic Interest of Introductory Geology Students at the College of William and Mary |
| Christina Byrd | Taphonomy of Miocene Cetacean Vertebrae from Carmel Church Quarry, Virginia |
| Molly Cox | Kinematic and Temporal History of Brittle Deformation in the Blue Ridge Province, North Central Virginia |
| Grace Dawson | Restoring the Blue Ridge: Cross Section Construction, Central VA |
| Kathryn Hamilton | Evaluation of the Self-reported Study Habits of Introductory Geology Students at William and Mary Through the use of the Motivated Strategies for Learning |
| Christina Hancox | A Field, Mineralogical and Geochemical Investigation of the Maidens Gneiss near Amelia, VA |
| Isaac Hopkins | Nutrient and Sediment Loss from Agricultural Fields by Channel Bypassing of Riparian Buffers |
| Chelsea Jenkins | Dating Deformation: Thermochronology and Chemical and Mineralogical Changes in the Blue Ridge province, Virginia |
| Lauren Lamp | Using in situ Measurements to Assess the Variability of Weathering Across Bedrock-Floored Channels |
| Dawson Lindauere | Fracture Analysis in the Surface and Subsurface of Bradford County Pennsylvania |
| David Loss | An Investigation Into the Flow Accumulation Along Agricultural Field Margins Using Geographic Information Systems in Charles City County and King and Queen County, Virginia |
| Sean Moran | The Taphonomy, Paleoecology, and Depositional Environment of Vertebrate Microfossil Bonebeds from the Late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation in Garfield County, Montana |
| Brad Peters | Mineralogical and Geochemical Constraints on the Origins of Ferruginous Quartzites in the Chopawamsic Terrane, Piedmont Province, Virginia |
| Robert Poirier | Late Quaternary Ostracode Assemblages: A Paleoclimate/Paleoceanographic Reconstruction in the Central Arctic Ocean for the Last 50 ky |
| Joseph Quinn | Spatially Variable Surface Features and Mineralogical Alterations in Bedrock Channels Produced by Weathering |
| David Reed | Morphological Trends in Venericardia (Bivalvia: Carditidae) of the U.S. Coastal Plain in Relation to Early Cenozoic Global Climate Change |
| Judith Sclafani | A Morphological and Phylogenetic Examination of the Miocene and Pliocene Bivalve Genus Chesapecten |
| Matthew Scott | Strain Analysis of the Buffards Formation, Piedmont Province, Central Virginia |
| Clare Stankwitz | Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury and Lead Contamination to Soils Across an Elevation Gradient in Vermont, USA |
Class of 2010 |
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| Angela Cota | Textural and Chemical Constraints on the Origins of Epidote in Granitic Pegmatites |
| Caitlin Dronfield | Mercury in Lake Matoaka: An Investigation of Contamination Sources and Pathways |
| Guy Evans | Soil Erosion Timing and Total Erosion in Owens Valley, California: A Combined Isotope 137Cs and 210Pbex Approach |
| Jonathan Garber | Using In Situ 10Be Soil Profiles to Date Fluvial Terraces of the South Fork, Shenandoah River, VA |
| Kyle Grimsley | Longitudinal Profile Analysis of the Shenandoah River: Evidence for Disequilibrium? |
| Steve Hess | Petrology of a Possible Tondhjemitic Pluton in the Roanoke Rapids Terrane, Virginia |
| Drew Laskowski | 3D Restoration of the Sugar Hollow Iapetan rift Basin using Strain and Vorticity Analysis, Blue Ridge, VA |
| James McCulla | Kinematic History of Brittle Deformation in the Petersburg Granite, Richmond, Virginia |
| Brendan Murphy | Spatially Variable Erodibility in Bedrock Channels Produced by Weathering |
| Donte Newbill | How Accurate is Your ADV: An Investigative Analysis on the Effect of Grain Size on Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter Backscatter |
| Eric Newman | The Effective Entrapment of Contaminants in Riparian Buffers: A Question of Thickness |
| Alex Olaya | Changes in Global Diversity and Geographic Distrubution of Venericardia Bivalvia in Association with Paleogene Climate Change |
| Amy Rarig | Quantification of Biofouling Community Structure on Oyster Shell Exposed in the York River, Chesapeake Bay, USA |
| Rachael Reeves | Discussion of Sediment Density Measurement by X-Radiography and Gamma Ray Attenuation |
| AJ Saltz | Using Basin-Averaged Erosion Rates to Assess the Rate of Drainage Capture Along the Divide Between the New and Roanoke Rivers, SW Virginia |
| Nick Schacht | The Influence of Bedrock Lithology on Sand Composition in the James River Watershed, VA Piedmont |
| Ali Snell | Constraining the Deformational Geometry of the Yavapai-Mazatzal Orogeny Using Three-Dimensional Strain Analysis in Proterozoic Vallecito Conglomerate, Needle Mountains, Southwestern Colorado |
| Claire Still | The Relationship Between Sexual Dimorphism and Taxon Longevity in Fossil Ammonoids: A Role for Sexual Selection in Extinction |
| Morgan Stumb | Using Cs-137 to Test the Effectiveness of Riparian Buffers in Tributaries of the James and York River Watersheds, VA |
| Rob Varno | Sediment Analysis in Lake Matoaka: A Southeast Virginia Hypereutrophic Water Body |
| Chris Yamoah | Examining Clasts from Multiple Outcrops of the Aquia Formation Near Richmond, VA |
| John Zerolis | Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Metamorphosed Ultramafic Rocks in the Raleigh Terrane, Piedmont Province, Virginia |
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Class of 2009 |
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Trevor Buckley |
Structural History and Geometry of the Northern Fish Lake Plateau, Central Utah |
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JoBeth Carbaugh |
Cretaceous and Paleogene Sedimentary Units of the Northern Fish Lake Plateau, Central Utah |
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Max Christie |
Ecological Interactions Across a Plio-Pleistocene Interval of Faunal Turnover: Naticid Cannibalism North and South of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina |
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Kristin Dorfler |
An Evaluation of the Areal Extent of Andalusite-Bearing Rocks, and the Timing of Low-Pressure Contact Metamorphism in the Hollister Shear Zone, Virginia |
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Morgan Gelinas |
Benthic Regeneration as a Source of Nutrients in the York River |
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Tessa Hanger |
Geochemical Constraints on the Nature and Tectonic Setting of Metavolcanic Rocks in the Roanoke Rapids Terrane, Eastern Piedmont, Virginia |
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Deadre Henderson |
A Study of the Relationship Between Shoreline Migration and Cross-shore and Alongshore Sediment Transfer |
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Sarah King |
Geochemistry of the Arvonia Formation, VA: Implications for Source-Area Weathering, Tectonic Setting, and Provenance |
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Brian Knieser |
A Field and Petrological Study of a Metagabbro Occurrence in the Chopawamsic Terrane, Piedmont Provence, Virginia |
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Graham Lederer |
Geology and Structural History of the Blue Ridge Basement Complex, Albemarle County, Virginia |
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Benjamin Lewis |
Controls on Suspended Sediment Particle Size in the York River Estuary |
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Melissa MacIntyre |
A Comparison of Composition and Size Distribution of
Clasts between the Yorktown |
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Kate McClure |
Phylogenetic Relationships and Morphological Changes in
Venericardia on the |
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Lydia Murray |
The Effects of the Pitch and Tar Swamp on the Hydrogeology
and Geochemistry |
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Karin Ohman |
Shifts in Diversity, Geographic Range, and Body Size in
Venericardia during |
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Heather Pasley |
Groundwater Hydrology and Contamination on Jamestown Island, VA: A Study of the Geochemistry and Microbiology of Groundwater |
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Todd Reyher |
A Comparison of Clast Composition and Size Between Sediments of the Aquia and Potomac Formations |
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Ethan Theuerkauf |
Alongshore Variations in Foreshore Morphology, Grain Size, and Wave Dissipation at a Shoreline Erosional Hotspot |
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Rhyanne Wheat |
Are Eastern Draining Streams in the Blue Ridge of Virginia Underfit? |
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Jennifer Whitten |
Bare Bedrock Summit Erosion Rates in the Central Appalachians, Virginia |
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Sofia Wicker |
Changes and Evolution of the Guadiana Estuary, Iberian
Peninsula: Sediment |
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Marley Bice |
How Well do Tree-Rings Reflect the Phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation? |
Class of 2008
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Sam Bruno |
Seasonal and spatial trends in biological versus physical influences on sediment setline velocity in the York River estuary |
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Nathan Burgess |
Combining Field Data and Computer Modeling to Improve Designs for Two Wet Deention Ponds in James City County, VA |
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Ryan Bonnette |
The Effects of Suburbanization and Stormwater Management in the Kensington Woods Subdivision |
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Stavros Calos |
Suburbanization and Stormwater Management in New Town |
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Adam Gattuso |
Tectonic Significance of the Late Neoproterozoic Swift Run Formation and Basement-Cover Unconformity in the Virginia Blue Ridge |
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Ari Hartmann |
Newly Discovered Mesosoic Rift Basins in the Virginia Blue Ridge: Sedimentology, Provenance, Structure, and Tectonics |
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Paige Flanigan |
The Wet Retention as a Stormwater Mitigation Technique: A theoretical and performance based comparison in James City County, VA |
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Portia Formento |
An Evaluation of the Areal Extent and Significance of Kyanite- and K-feldspar-Bearing Metapelitic Rocks in the Maidens Gneiss, Goochland Terrane, Virginia |
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Friedrich Knuth |
3-Dimensional Strain Analysis of Quartz Arenite in the Antietam Formation, Blue Ridge province, Virginia, USA |
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Carl Lang |
Lithologic and structural control on the evolution of a knickzone on the James River, central Virginia Piedmont |
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Lauren Parker |
Evidence for Knickzone Generation and Landscape Disequilibrium Throughout Surficial Studies of the James River, Central Virginia Piedmont |
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Nyssa Perryman |
Obtaining an Extended Record of Hurricane Frequency in the North Atlantic |
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Charles Plummer |
Searching for Tectonic Moments: Geochemical Tracers in Young Anatolian Basalts, Silvas, Turkey |
Class of 2007 |
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Jessica Ball |
Geology and geochemistry of the Osiris trachyte, Fish Lake Plateau, Utah |
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Christopher Bowles |
Structural Geometry and Deformation History of the Eastern Fish Lake Plateau, Utah |
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Leah Cheek |
Geochemistry of the Raleigh Gneiss in the Peidmont Province of Southeastern Virginia; Implications for the Nature of the Protolith. |
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Claire Flannagan |
The effect of sampling on the observed richness and evenness of molluscan assemblages in the Plio-Pleistocene shell beds of southwest Florida |
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Erin Fenlon |
Qualifying the Morphology and Reconstructing the Phylogeny of Venericard Bivalves along the Gulf Coastal Plain during the Paleocene and Eocene |
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Phillip Gopon |
Petrology of the Elk Hill Complex in the Central Piedmont Province, VA |
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Erik Haug |
Surficial Geology of the UM Creek Drainage Basin, Fish Lake Plateau, Utah: Glaciation, Tectonics, and Mass Wasting |
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Marie Kurz |
Landscape Knickzones in the Virginia Piedmont: Evaluating Landscape Disequilibrium Through GIS-Based Morphometric Analysis |
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Meghan Lamoreaux |
The Neoproterozoic-Phanerozoic Transition in the Western Blue Ridge Province, Southern Shenandoah National Park, Virginia |
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Katherine Luciano |
Investigation Into the Relationship Between Morphology and Tidal Flux In Ditched and Non-Ditched Salt Marsh Creek Systems, Rowley, Massachusetts |
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Joseph Olney |
The distribution and kinematics of high-strain zones in northwestern Albemarle County, central Virginia Blue Ridge |
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Matthew Oreska |
Paleoecology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous) Vertebrate Fauna from Microvertebrate Sites in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming |
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Ammie Pascua |
More Complex than Plain: An Investigation of the Relationship Between Pleistocene Allostratigraphic Formations to Morphology of the Virginia Costal Plain in the Vicinity of York River State Park |
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Emily Robinson |
Ecological Effects Of Miocene-Pliocene Cooling On Mollusks From The Eastover and Yorktown Formations of Southeastern Virginia |
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Laura Robertson |
Impacts of Channel Incision on Water Table Elevation and Chemistry: Upper Chisel Run, James City County, VA |
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Bethany Stackhouse |
Distribution and Sub-bottom Features of Oyster Deposits in the York River, Virginia and the Rate of Degradation of Oyster Shell |
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Hallie Street |
Description and phylogenetic analysis of cryptocleidoid plesiosaurs based on new material of Tatenectes laramiensis from the Sundance Formation (Wyoming, USA) |
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Shelbi Wilson |
Geochemical Constraints on the Origin of Chloritoid-bearing Kyanite Quartzite at Hagers Mountain, North Carolina and Comparisons with Virginia Occurrences |
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Class of 2006 |
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Laura Buchanan |
Kinematic and Strain Analysis of Mylonites from the Suizo Mountains, Santa Catalina Metamorphic Core Complex, Arizona. |
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Tim Dickson |
Structural History of Cedarless Flat, Fish Lake Plateau, Utah. |
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Robert (Joe) Fuscaldo |
Fracture Analysis and Slope Stability in Southern Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. |
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Emily Gercke |
Relationships among Weather, Glacial Ablation, and Fluvial Processes, Svalbard, Norway. |
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Matthew Gibbons |
Are Kyanite Quartzites in the central Virginia Piedmont part of the Arvonia Formation? A Mineralogical Test. |
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Michael Grenz |
Effectiveness of a Detention Pond in James City County, VA |
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Natasha Hunter |
Can We Measure the Effects of Human Disturbance on Mollusk Communities from the Chesapeake Bay? |
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Robert Jacobsen |
Retention Deficit Disorder? Effectiveness of Retention Ponds in the Management of Stormwater Runoff: A Case Study in Williamsburg/James City County, VA. |
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Colleen Kayser |
Geometry and Kinematics of the Harris Cove Fault near Naked Creek, Page County, Virginia. |
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Sarah Kolbe |
Morphological Variability, Body Size, and Survivorship in Veneroid Bivalves During the Plio-Pleistocene Extinction in Florida. |
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Keith Moodhe |
Waipaoa River: Chemical and physical analysis of an active margin river. |
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Owen Nichols |
Mapping and Interpreting the Swift Run Formation and the Great Unconformity |
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Holly Packard |
Heavy Metal Concentrations in Sediments of Developed and Undeveloped Watersheds, Williamsburg, VA. |
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Zack Pennington |
Abundance as a Factor in Background Extinction: Bivalves from the Choptank Formation (Miocene) of Maryland. |
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Eric Tadlock |
Structural Geology of the Western Blue Ridge in Central Virginia: Blue Ridge Fault, Myth or Reality? |
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Brian Wachter |
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Retention Basin in Williamsburg/James City County. |
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Will Weaver |
Surficial Mapping and Helium-3 Dating of Glacial Deposits at Fish Lake, Utah. |
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