SAMANTHA DUNN
Rutherford Lake, above Anne Lake, looking Northward into the JLP granodiorite
Work Experience
Research Assistant
I have been working in both my advisor's dry and wet labs prepping rock samples for XRF whole rock analysis, thin-section petrography, and U-Pb zircon dating by separating out the zircons from whole rock via heavy liquid processes.
USGS EDMAP Grant Primary Mapper
I am the master primary mapper for the mapping project of the JLP. Over the summer, ~25 sq. km of the JLP was mapped by myself and an undergraduate primary mapper. We were assisted by undergraduate field assistants. In the summer, 2023, I and a fellow grad student will be mapping more of the JLP.
Summer 2022 Fieldwork
I assisted undergraduate researchers to locate themselves on topographic maps in the field. How to correctly use a Brunton compass to measure magmatic fabrics. I was also in charge of logistics and camp maintenance, along with the undergraduate primary mapper.
TA for Cal Poly's Geology Field Camp, Summer 2022
Assisted professors with ​teaching geologic field methods: how to measure strike and dip, how to map bedrock and surficial deposits on topographic maps, how to measure stratigraphy, create stratigraphic columns, and how to construct geologic cross-sections.
Rock Lab Assistant
Geology Department, Cal Poly Humboldt, Fall 2019 - Spring 2020
Made thin sections for petrology labs and the Geology Department's collection. The job included safely cleaning rock-cutting equipment and following lab safety procedures.