My primary research interests are physical volcanology and geophysics.
In volcanology, my research focuses on development of volcanic hazard models. These include computer models for tephra dispersion and lava flow simulation that I work to develop and test. I also devote considerable energy to development of new techniques for understanding the structural setting of basaltic volcanic fields on Earth and other planets, and to modeling heat and mass transfer in volcanoes.
My research in geophysics involves high-resolution gravity and magnetic surveys and techniques, inversion of potential field data, for example using the downhill simplex methods and singular value decomposition. I most enjoy geophysics when we can successfully use multiple methods simultaneously to create a clear picture of a geological structure or geological process.