Faculty

As a sedimentologist and geomorphologist with a BSc and MSc in Geosciences (University of Bonn, Germany), I am passionate about increasing our understanding of how sedimentary systems are controlled by environmental and external factors acting within different parts of their superordinate source-to-sink system, and the interplay of sediment transport dynamics and topography in both terrestrial and marine environments.

Building on my PhD research of process-response relationships in submarine canyons and shelf-edge deltas in a source-to-sink context at the University of Leeds (England, United Kingdom), I am currently investigating the co-evolution and mutual influence of Late Quaternary clastic and carbonate source-to-sink systems along the modern Belize continental margin to identify key mechanisms driving the geomorphology and stratigraphic record of mixed siliciclastic-carbonate margins associated with rivers and barrier reef systems.

I started my academic studies pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, and I found myself interested in water science. I continued to study water engineering for a Master’s degree at the Amirkabir University of Technology in Iran. During this time, my research explored sediment transport around armored obstacles in rivers, including bridge piers and abutments. My thesis assessed drag coefficients and force balance exerted on bridge abutments in waterways. My current science research seeks to gain further knowledge of fluvial systems, combining geoscience perspectives and engineering viewpoints. I intend to study river morphology, how river channels grow and evolve during avulsions process, specifically related to channels accommodating ever greater water and sediment flux.

My research interests are primarily in sedimentology and river dynamics in high-latitudes environments. As an undergrad at Colorado State, I was part of a project using sediment geochemistry to understand sediment contributions of tributaries into larger river networks during rapid erosional events. Currently I am working on a project as an M.S. student/RA attempting to build an understanding of the processes that influence the morphodynamics of streams that flow through peat bogs. Using field and computer-based methods, I am looking at a small stream in central Minnesota to understand geomorphic processes that are largely different than those of alluvial streams and rivers.