About me

I am a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. My main ongoing research areas are 1) lithospheric dynamics of the North American Plate, 2) subduction initiation during supercontinent cycles, and 3) global adjoint convection models. I also work with collaborators from CIDER 2022 on planetary science problems, such as hydrogen distribution history within terrestrial planets and triggers for Marsquakes.

My essential research tool is analytical and numerical modeling. With data-assimilated modeling techniques, my Ph.D. works focus on understanding lithospheric and mantle dynamics, particularly for the conterminous United States. My fully coupled lithosphere-mantle model provides a quantitative estimation of the driving forces for intraplate seismicity in the western U.S. and sheds light on the origin of intraplate volcanism in this region.

Figures showing global and regional high-resolution 3D models. (a) An equatorial slice of global adjoint convection model. (b) a 3D slice of high-resolution, fully coupled lithosphere-mantle model for the North American Plate.