I am a Professor in the Department of Geology at Queen’s University, and currently hold Adjunct Professorship status at both Dalhousie University and Simon Fraser University. I specialize in structural geology and continental tectonics, with a special focus on the evolution of mountain belts, namely the Himalayan-Tibet system. I am particularly interested in field-oriented studies dealing with ductile deformation processes, evolution of crustal-scale shear zones and associated microstructural fabric development, fold/fault relationships, and active tectonics and seismicity.
I obtained my BSc and MSc degrees in Geology from Université du Québec à Montréal. Following my PhD in Himalayan tectonics at Carleton University in Ottawa, I moved to Oxford University (UK) to pursue a NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship. I was appointed as an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University (BC) in 2000 before moving to Queen’s University in 2003. I am a Professor in the Department of Geology at Queen’s, and currently hold Adjunct Professorship status at both Dalhousie University and Simon Fraser University. I specialize in structural geology and continental tectonics, with a special focus on the evolution of mountain belts, namely the Himalayan-Tibet system. I am particularly interested in field-oriented studies dealing with ductile deformation processes, evolution of crustal-scale shear zones and associated microstructural fabric development, fold/fault relationships, and active tectonics and seismicity.
Queen’s Tectonics Research Laboratory (QTRL)
My research group, the Queen’s Tectonics Research Laboratory, works on the application of centrifuge analogue modelling, U-Pb geochronology, and 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology to continental tectonics. In addition to mountain belt research, we conduct research on seismicity and stress partitioning in continental interiors, investigation of Early Archean geology, and application of structural geology to mineral exploration programs. Our objective is to further our understanding of dynamic deformation processes affecting the continental lithosphere. Our research is principally focused on continent-continent collision zones such as the Himalaya, specifically, how the roots of mountain belts (metamorphic core zones) evolve from initial collision and thickening, to eventual exhumation and erosion. Within this theme are first-order questions pertaining to the tectonic evolution of the middle crust, structural influence of inherited faults, and the rates at which processes such as thickening, crustal extrusion, and exhumation may take place in old or active mountain belts. We have also recently developed new research directions that utilize structural geology techniques to solve Precambrian tectonics and active tectonics (neotectonics) problems.
