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.