Team Bio

Raquel, Rodrigo and Taylor were part of the an international collaborative project. The results of such research were presented at GSA, 2015.

Cameron, Dennis and Maximilian are part of the undergraduate research team lead by Raquel at Texas A&M.

This project is unique by bringing together young scientists from around the world to work as part of an interdisciplinary team to tackle emerging problems involving water and energy resources.

Raquel Granados Aguilar, PhD

Raquel obtained her PhD in Geology from Texas A&M University in 2021.

Taylor Rowley

Taylor obtained her BSc in Geography from the University of Oklahoma in 2012. She went on to work for the Water Resources Board of Oklahoma studying surface water quantity and quality throughout the state. She decided to return to school to pursue her Masters in Water Management and Hydrological Sciences at Texas A&M University and received her degree in August 2016. Taylor is now starting her PhD in Geography at Louisiana State University. While at Texas A&M, Taylor joined the Geology and Geosciences Virtual Internship Program, and has been working with Michael Lilly from Geo-Watershed Scientific. As a result of this collaboration, Taylor was also a part of the Conference Technical Program and Planning Committee for the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) 2016 Spring Specialty Conference on Water-Energy-Environment Nexus. Taylor also collaborated with Dr. Giardino and Dr. Chris Houser as a co-author in a chapter of the book: "Principles and Dynamics of the Critical Zone", published in 2015, focusing on Periglacial processes and landforms.

Rodrigo Rodriguez

Rodrigo is a Senior Undergraduate Environmental Engineering student focusing on groundwater at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. He has been researching in collaboration with professors Dr. Peter Knappett, and Dr. Rick Giardino from Texas A&M University, and Dr. Yanmei Li from Guanajuato University. His collaborative research has bee conducted in Mexico, studying groundwater geochemistry, specifically Arsenic and Fluoride since 2015. He has also been a visiting student at Texas A&M conducting laboratory analysis for soil samples using XRF and XRD equipment. His undergraduate research extends from publishing an article in the Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering on “Apparatus Prototype for Purpose of Teaching in Bio-Digesters”, to Environmental audits in the Bajio industrial sector in Guanajuato, Mexico, as well as assessing the effects of drilling deep potable water wells in the Independence Aquifer on high metal and metalloids concentrations in groundwater.

Maximilian Witek

Maximilian is a Junior BS Geology student at Texas A&M University. He has worked in collaboration with the Institute of Oil and Gas- National Research Institute in Poland on many projects including preparing samples, running, and analyzing XRF, XRD, X-Ray Computed Tomography, GC/MS, Mercury Porosimetry/ Gas Sorption, and NMR as well as XMRI image analysis. He also worked to create a regional stratigraphy map covering close to 100,000 mi² using Petrel, as well as made use of Matlab and Techlog to create pore overpressure prediction algorithms used to determine the correct density of drilling muds at a given site; this can help minimize or even prevent the drilling mud from entering the water table and contaminating it. He recently spent several weeks in the field evaluating an experimental method of locating subsurface faulting that common geophysical techniques are unable to detect relying mainly on the concentrations of subterranean near surface Radon gas.

Over the course of the project I hope not only to master the techniques used in EM research, but also the vast field experience that I will be a part of. I think that this will be a prime opportunity to be able to help with a project, starting from the early phases, and see it to its conclusion. There is also the practical matters of ensuring the instruments are available and functioning, devising a route, planning the “human” aspect of any expedition, and many others. I also look forward to the data analysis associated with such an undertaking. This is an opportunity to take a question, run analyses and obtain data from a geologically fascinating region of the USA, and draw conclusions from the results, all at a level that meets the standards of the global scientific community. And I want to play as much of a role as I can to help make the project a rousing success.

Cameron Ramsey

Cameron Ramsey is a senior Geology major and Geophysics minor at Texas A&M University. She works at the International Ocean Discovery Program’s Gulf Coast Repository on the west campus of A&M and hopes to sail on Expedition 374. She has done research with Dr. Leah LeVay at IODP over the phytoplankton productivity in the Gulf of Alaska from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene from Expedition 341. This past semester she worked with graduate student Walker Ligon interpreting well logs of the Del Rio Formation in West Texas. She used Techlog to make picks from over 200 well logs throughout 3 counties, then created an isopach map from her picks using ArcGIS. Cameron also completed several projects this past semester related to the San Juan Mountains which included using geophysical methods to understand the regional geology as well as a comprehensive study of the San Juan Basin.

Along with my interest in geophysics, I was very eager to be a part of this research group. Using the new G-TEM technology is an innovative way to characterize the internal structure of these rock glaciers and will be an intriguing challenge to interpret. I also think this research will have a great deal of meaning for many people living in alpine environments and show them that the impacts climate change can be seen from their own backyards. Using the EM equipment and gaining experience in the field while working in Colorado on the rock glaciers will be a great learning experience. I would like to be a part of this research group up until I graduate but would like to continue working on the project after graduation if possible.

Dennis Mmasa

Dennis Mmasa is a senior Geology major and Geophysics minor at Texas A&M University. He works at the International Ocean Discovery Program located in College Station, Texas. Dennis is currently a member of Julia Reece's research group and works on research that deals with change in permeability and porosity of mud when mixed with organic matter, more specifically peat. He performs this research using the resedimentation method. He started working on this project January of 2017 and will be doing it until he graduates in December 2017. With the findings of his research, he will be able to determine how organic matters affects porosity and permeability and this will help both in the findings of oil and gas and water flow in areas with a high quantity of organic matters. Previous research that Dennis has performed includes working with one of the staff scientist at IODP, Dr. Leah LeVay in determining the productivity of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Alaska from Expedition 341.

I recently took a near surface geophysics class during the spring 2017 semester, this was one of the favorite classes I’ve ever taken in my college tenure. Being a part of this research helps me to apply the knowledge I learned in class to the field. Working with the G-TEM will give me a chance to utilize my geophysics knowledge in the field. One of the main reasons I chose to participate in this research group is the impact it will have based on its findings. Water sources are always something people will need but with climate change, the water sources from the Alpines are becoming scarcer. So finding out the water storage abilities of rock glaciers will be very useful in determining a new water source that doesn’t react as fast to climate change. When I learned about the impact of the findings of this research I jumped at the first chance to help out. This will a have significant impact on all the people that depend on the Alpines as their source of water.