Hello! My name is Mia! I am originally from Chicago, Illinois, USA! I am a first generation Cuban-American who loves understanding how our home, Earth works!! In addition to a Bachelor of Science (hons) in Geology I also have a Bachelor of Art (hons) in Spanish because in addition to my passion for our Earth, I am passionaite about my Latina heritage, its language, culture, dance and food! (If anyone would like a tastey Paella recipe...you have my info)!
Qualifications
- Harvard University Guest Researcher 2019: I conducted guest research at Harvard University with the Langmuir Group at the Hoffman Laboratories. Prof. Charles Langmuir mentored and supervised my geochemical analysis for my current research project on the Reventador Volcano 100km east of Quito, Ecuador.
- NAU Hooper Undergraduate Research Grant Awardee (HURA) 2019-2020: I continued the Reventador project that Dr. Elizabeth Gaunt, from the Instituto Geofísico in Quito, Ecuador, assigned to me in conjunction with my research advisor, Dr. Michael Ort at Northern Arizona University. Components of quantitative shape analysis at Northern Arizona University and Geochemistry ICP-MS analysis in conjunction with Harvard facilities were added to the shape analysis and geophysical components to add more analysis to the Reventador volcano.
- Research Intern, 2019-2020: I interned with Dr. Elizabeth Gaunt and MSc. Patricia Mothes at the Instituto Geofísico in Quito, Ecuador for 6 months in order to learn volcano monitoring techniques and to gain experience with the practical aspects of working in an active volcano observatory. Also, what goes into maintaining monitoring networks and maintaining vigilance of the many active volcanoes of Ecuador.
- University Nacional del Tucumán Student Teacher, 2018: I worked as a student aid for Geology courses at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. This position was held in Spanish where I assisted students in their 3-hour practical courses for their introduction to Geology courses.
- Undergraduate Researcher, 2018: I looked at thin sections of the Redbanks formation from Mount Shasta, for a scientist who works at the CVO-USGS. I characterized these thin sections by observing their bulk chemistry range percentages, looking at total crystallinity, and composition of the glass in the thin sections.
- Serdan-Oriental Mexico Student Researcher, 2017: International Field Research in Geophysics among four Northern Arizona University students and four students from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Seismic refractions, electromagnetics, and magnetic surveys were used to better understand the Serdan-Oriental Volcanic Field.
List of publications
- The use of optical binocular microscope, SEM, ICP-MS, quantitative shape analysis and EDS to better understand volcanic ash samples of Reventador volcano in Ecuador, E. Gaunt, M. Pique, S. Hernandez. Bulletin of Volcanology 2020. In prep.
- Developing probabilistic tephra fallout hazard maps for Cotopaxi and Guagua Pichincha volcanoes, Ecuador, with uncertainty quantification, A. Tadini 1 , O. Roche 1 , P. Samaniego 1,2 , A. Guillin 3 , N. Azzaoui 3 , M. Gouhier 1 , M. de’ Michieli Vitturi 4 ,F. Pardini 4 , J. Eychenne 1 , B. Bernard 2 , S. Hidalgo 2 , J-L. Le Pennec 1,5 , A. Bevilacqua 4 , W. Aspinall 6 , A.Neri 4 , R. Cioni 7 , M. Pistolesi 7 , E. Gaunt 2 , S. Vallejo 2 , M. Encalada 2 , H. Yepes 2 , A. Proñao 2 , M. Pique. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2020.
| Featured projects | Duration |
|---|---|
| Magmatic pathways leading to volcanism in anomalous arcs | 2020–2024 |