All of my research has evolved around displacements of materials and how they can be predicted or measured based on field data.In earlier days,I investigated the emplacement mechanisms for the northeastern sector of the Idaho batholith and how that emplacement affected the tectonic evolution of west-central Montana.This study involved field mapping in beautiful and rugged terrane, chemical and petrographic analyses,statistical structural analysis,and radiometric dating using U-Pb and Rb-Sr techniques.Funding came from three NSF Grants and two WMU Faculty Grants. I also studied for several years the effects of Precambrian basement-rock compositions and fabrics on the development of Mesozoic/Cenozoic, Rocky Mountain foreland folds.This study involved largely field investigations at a number of locations between Montana and New Mexico.Funding came from two NSF Grants.

Most recently, I am applying techniques of structural analysis and rock/soil mechanics to landslide problems. Current projects involve the application of new measuring and geometric reconstruction techniques,strength analysis of rocks and soil layers,and computer simulations of landslides and their structural evolution.Ongoing funding is from grants provided by the U.S.Army Research Office and the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers.

Educational Background

Ph.D - University of Montana,1968
M.A. - University of Montana,1961
B.A.  - DePauw University,1958

Research Specializations

Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology

Ongoing Projects

• Structural evolution of mass movements in Great Lakes coastal environments.
• Development of slow slumps in ductile soils by processes of fault propagation folding.
• Basement-rock controls on the structural evolution of the eastern Rocky Mountains
• The relationships among igneous intrusion,fault movements,and crust-mantle evolution in the northern Rocky Mountains.

Courses Taught

Undergraduate
Earth Science
Physical Geology
Oceanography
Geology of the National Parks and Monuments
Mineralogy
Optical Mineralogy
Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
Structural Geology
Economic Geology
Field Geology in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Field Geology in the northern Rocky Mountains
Field Geology in Colorado

Graduate
Advanced Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
Structural Analysis
Plate Tectonics (team instruction)
Slope Stability Analysis

Workshops
A variety related to the content and presentation of geology in the K-12 classrooms.

Selected Publications [5]