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Graduate Students
Caden Anderson
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 238 (Flourite Pod)
Tobias Babcock
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 227 (Galena Pod)
I am currently working on a redescription of the holotype material for the Permian shark Sarcoprion edax for my master's thesis. My primary research interests are in Paleozoic Fishes and Dinosaurs. I am a graduate of Montana State University, with a bachelor's degree in Earth Sciences, Paleontology Concentration. I have extensive volunteer and work experience in paleontology, including histology, collections, fieldwork, and more. Paleontology is a lifelong passion of mine, and I am always happy to share my passion through teaching, outreach, and my research.
Cheyenne Bartelt
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 207E (Halite Pod)
Betty Elorm Brown
Program: M.S. in Geographic Information Science (GIS)
Office: Physical Sciences 227 (Galena Pod)
Ashley Butterworth
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 238 (Flourite Pod)
I am a M.S. in Geology student passionate about UAS applications to geoscience. My research at ISU will focus on UAS-captured LiDAR for the study of landslide hazards in the Grand Tetons.
In May 2024, I graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, with a B.S. in Geology and a concentration in Environmental and Engineering Geology, along with a minor in Geography. My undergraduate thesis involved the investigation of erosion and mass wasting of coastal cliffs at Westmoreland State Park, VA, using UAS-captured LiDAR and GIS analysis.
In my free time, you can find me hanging out with my husband and my cat, Fives (shout out if you know who I named him after)! I also love baking, crocheting (stuffed chickens specifically), caving, and playing disc golf.
David Cavell
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Science 207B (Halite Pod)
I am a M.S. Geology student working with Dr. Shannon Kobs Nawotniak studying volcanism in southern Idaho, USA.
My thesis project is specifically looking at the geochemistry and petrology of a specific volcano in the eastern Snake River Plain, the volcano is Sixmile Butte. This study came from observations made by Dr. Kobs Nawotniak, Dr. Murray, and Dr. McCurry of inconsistent concentrations of olivine and plagioclase minerals in Sixmile Butte's flows. My project is performing target research into Sixmile through mapping of surface flows, field and lab determined mineral concentrations and physical characteristics, whole rock and trace element geochemistry, and magma chamber modeling.
I earned my B.S. Geology from the University of Idaho where I worked under Dr. Erika Rader learning volcanological processes. I had the opportunity to work on a project looking at the physical characteristics of the 2018 Kilauea eruption, Hawaii compared to ancient volcanoes in the continental United States.
Daliedmarie Delgado Maisonet
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 227 (Galena Pod)
Zachary Ellia
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 238 (Fluorite Pod)
Rebecca Guarino
Program: M.S. in GIS and M.S. in Anthropology
David R. Johnson
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 207 D (Halite Pod)
I am a current graduate student at ISU working on my M.S. in Geology studying rocks in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah. My work is a mix of thermochronology, structural geology, and field mapping. In my free time I enjoy mountain biking, road biking, gravel biking, and fat biking in the snow!
Jennings Leavell
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 238 (Flourite Pod) or Gale 408
I am a MS in Geology student in Dr. Lohse’s Lab, and an aspiring biogeochemist and watershed scientist. I intend to pursue a PhD next on the path to a career as a professor or researcher.
My MS thesis research focus at ISU is phosphorus' biogeochemical response to a prescribed burn in an intermittent stream system. This project was developed and implemented in conjunction with other students, collaborators, and the NSF RII Track 2 AIMS project. I am also broadly interested in nutrient biogeochemistry, chemical fate, intermittent stream hydrology, and scientific outreach to primary and secondary students and educators.
I earned my BA in Chemistry and minor in Philosophy from Bowdoin College (2018). Between academic programs, I was an intern for the Mote Marine ecotoxicology research lab, an analyst for an environmental analytical lab in Salt Lake City, and held various service industry jobs. See my CV for more details.
Outside of work, I am an avid music-enjoyer and outdoors person. I love climbing, skiing, running, and camping in the mountains of southeast Idaho and throughout the Mountain West, usually with my dog, Sage, in tow.
Elisha Manandhar
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 207D (Halite Pod)
Brooks Myers
Program: Ph.D. in Geosciences
Office: Physical Sciences 208 (in Digital Mapping Laboratory)
I am a PhD student in Geosciences at Idaho State University. I'm interested in sagebrush biome conservation, data science and machine learning, Uncrewed Aerial Systems, and Geographic Information Systems.
My dissertation involves identifying environmental indicators of Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) migration and modeling fine-scale qualities of sage-grouse habitat in southeast Idaho. To accomplish this research, I combine GPS positional data, UAS imagery, GIS, and Artificial Intelligence to gather and analyze data.
In my free time, I enjoy being a husband and father of three. I love using my background in ecology (and general outdoors “dad knowledge”) to expose my kids to the amazing world around them.
Kyle Paulekas
Program: Ph.D. in Geosciences
Office: Physical Sciences 208 (in Digital Mapping Laboratory)
Michelle Sclafani
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 207E (Halite Pod)
I am a master's student studying how intermittent stream biogeochemistry changes in
response to fire under Dr. Kathleen Lohse. My research project is focused on how a
recent prescribed fire that surrounded an intermittent watershed alters inorganic
nitrogen processing.
Following my B.S. in Geology and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from NC State, I took an
eight year break in the public sector. During my time at the North Carolina Department
of Environmental Quality and City of Raleigh's Stormwater Management, I became
passionate about public service and community engagement. I've enjoyed working with
a diverse set of business and property owners, and applying science into daily lives. My
long-term goal is to pursue a career in land and groundwater management where I can
use scientific investigations to improve responsible decision making processes.
In my spare time I enjoy trail running, camping, gardening, playing cello and
volunteering. I've also liked improving my German so I can stay better connected with my
family!
Brittany Slane
Program: MS GIS - Professional
Office: Physical Sciences 207A (Halite Pod)
Anna Sniadach
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 227 (Galena Pod)
I am a hydrologist with a passion for groundwater! In the future I want to continue working in the field of hydrology as it is so interdisciplinary, I am always learning something new. I work in the Godsey lab. My project focuses on water quality and quantity of natural springs in the Gibson Jack watershed.
I graduated from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a B.S. in Geosciences. In undergraduate, I worked on the Root River Project investigating mass discharge of salt during rain events in Racine, WI. Before I started my masters, I worked as a post-bacc on the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) project in the Mountain West region here at ISU. I have done extensive field work in both undergraduate and graduate school. Double digit mileage for a day trip is common for me.
In my spare time you can find me on the water fly-fishing or in the mountains hiking. Sometimes I even do both! I'm an avid rock-climber, and skier. I also consider myself a coffee and restaurant connoisseur, I know the best spots in town.
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Daniel Arteaga Vega
Program: M.S. in Geology
Office: Physical Sciences 207 B (Halite Pod)
I am a graduate student pursuing an M.S. in Geology degree working with Dr. Ryan Anderson and Dr. David Pearson interested in the structural evolution of rocks in southern Idaho. My research here at ISU involves investigating the complex deformational history of the Raft River-Albion-Grouse Creek metamorphic core complex in southern Idaho through field mapping, detrital zircon geochronology, and structural analysis.
My project involves creating a 1:12,000-scale geologic map of the northern Albion Range with an emphasis on identifying and recording mylonites and kinematic indicators near important structures in the field. The map will be supplemented with detrital zircon geochronology to obtain unresolved age control of geologic units in the research area. Additionally, structural analysis of deformed rocks will give insight into their deformation history.
I previously earned an associate degree at Weber State University before coming to ISU where I completed a B.S. in Geology in July 2023. I’ve also interned with the Idaho Geological Survey working on a project investigating rare earth element abundance in the Permian Phosphoria Formation in Soda Springs, Idaho.
In my free time I can be found playing soccer, shooting hoops, snowboarding, fishing, or running on some of the great local trails of Pocatello.
Brandon Yokeley
Program: Ph.D. in Geosciences
Office: Physical Sciences 207C (Halite Pod)
I am currently a Ph.D. candidate at Idaho State University studying water tracks, curvilinear zones of increased saturation on Arctic hillslopes, and gullies, thermokarst features that commonly form in water tracks, in the upland Arctic. I received a B.S. in quantitative geoscience at Appalachian State University in 2019 and an M.S. in geology at Kansas State University in 2021.
My research here at Idaho State University has allowed me to spend the past three summers on Alaska's north slope at Toolik Field Station instrumenting and maintaining three field sites to investigate the hydrological differences between water tracks and gullies. In addition to this, I have spent several weeks walking across the tundra collecting field observations of gullies so that I can partition gullies into different classes and better understand their evolution on the landscape. I use this field data and field observations in conjunction with high-resolution lidar data to quantify gully abundance on Arctic hillslopes, hypothesize how gullies form on these hillslopes, and what their evolution through time may look like.
The field data I have collected over the past three years will also allow me to investigate how hillslope responses to storms will differ adjacent to gullies and water tracks. This is important as we hypothesize that gullies are becoming more common on the landscape due to climate change, thus understanding the hydrological differences between gullies and water tracks will allow us to better understand how hillslope hydrology may change in a warming climate.