Dr. Paul M. Betka

Geology Department

Western Washington University

ES 233A, MS-9080

516 High Street

Bellingham, WA 98225

Email: betkap (at) wwu (dot) edu

Office phone: +1 360-650-2031

Short CV

Current students (Western Washington Univ.)

TOMAS URBINA, MS 2024

Tomás completed a BS in Geology at WWU in 2022. He is now studying the structure of the Noa Dihing Fault in northeast India for his MS research as part of an NSF funded project focused on continental fault junctions in the eastern Himalaya. Tomás aspires to become a survey geologist for a federal or WA state agency and he is also considering continuing his research by pursuing a PhD in geology.

Former students (George Mason Univ.)

NATASHA TAGLE, undergraduate researcher 2022

Natasha was a USGS EDMAP researcher, she studied the structural evolution of the North Mountain Fault Zone in the Appalachain foreland basin using 1:24,000 scale geologic mapping and GIS analysis of high resolution (1m) lidar digital elevation models. Natasha finished her Geology BA in 2022 and is now working as a contractor for USGS.

ALEX GRAY, MS 2023, undergraduate researcher 2021

Alex completed a BS in Geology at GMU in 2021 and an MS in 2023. He studied the structure and fault kinematics of the Naga fold-thrust belt in Northeast India and he is now a mapping geologist for the USGS Appalachian Basins research group. His undergraduate research explored methods for scaling and orienting high resolution structure-from-motion outcrop models using outcrop measurements.

AUSTIN MATHEWS, MS 2022

Austin’s research interests include field-based structural, stratigraphic, and tectonic investigations, geographic tools such as GIS and remote sensing, and planetary geology. He studied the structure and fault kinematics of the Indo-Burman Ranges in India with a special focus on strain partitioning and implications for seismic hazard in the region. His future ambitions include combining structural analysis with geologic and geographic techniques to study the geology on other planets. Austin finished his MS degree in August, 2022 and he is currently working on DOE funded carbon-capture and storage research for a consulting firm in Virginia.

KRISTEN CHIAMA, undergraduate researcher 2020.

Kristen’s research examines oblique convergence in the Indo-Burman Ranges along the Churachandpur-Mao Fault (CMF) zone in Mizoram, India. She combines field mapping and fault-slip analysis with tectonic geomorphology studies using high-resolution (~12 m) shaded relief topography and InSAR from Sentinel-1 data (2015-2020). Her work helps to characterize the kinematics of NW-striking splay faults adjacent to the CMF and can help to inform regional seismic hazard. After graduating from GMU in May 2020, she went to Harvard to pursue a PhD in active tectonics and seismicity.

 

I am recruiting one MS student to join the Geology Department at Western Washington University, starting in Fall 2024!

The student will work with me on a NSF-funded tectonics research project in northeast India. The project will involve geologic mapping, structural analysis, and thermochronology in collaboration with Karl Lang (GA Tech), and Kip Hodges (ASU). Applicants should be eager to undertake field-intensive structural geology research. Undergraduate mapping and/or research experience will be considered favorably when reviewing applications. Interested applicants should explore the Geology Department website https://geology.wwu.edu and graduate program application information https://geology.wwu.edu/prospective-graduate-students. The position will be supported by TA and RA appointments. January 15 is the application deadline to qualify for TA support. Contact me with any questions!