Rob Dean
Geology Technician

Department of Geology
Kaufman 148
Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA 17013-2896
USA

Phone: 717.245.1109
E-Mail: deanr@dickinson.edu

I'm interested in how continents and continental crust form. My undergraduate research focused on the orogenesis of the Appalachains, in particular, the relationship of the Baltimore Gneiss to its unconformable cover sequence and how the large scale gneiss domes of the mid-atlantic formed. My graduate research focused on the Precambrian orogenic belt of the southwestern US and the tectonic evolution of southern Laurentia. I use a combination of field based, grass roots geologic mapping combined with qualitative and quantitative petrographic techniques.

Research

• I maintain an interest in Proterozoic tectonics of southwestern North America.  My graduate research has carried over to work focusing on characterizing Mesoproterozoic orogenesis and distinguishing it from Paleoproterozoic tectonic events. 
• Work has been undertaken with Dr. Peter Sak (Dickinson) and Dr. Nadine McQuarrie (Princeton) to update and digitize geologic bedrock maps in central Pennsylvania and quantify strain in the folded cover sequence of sediments that characterize the fold and thrust belt of central Pennsylvania.
• While at Montgomery College, I worked with researchers from New Mexico Tech, NASA, and the National Weather Service (NWS) on development of a lightning mapping array (LMA) for the DC metro area and installation of a monitoring station on MC’s campus.  The LMA provides near real time data to the NWS for severe weather prediction over the internet.
• Work was conducted with faculty and students from Anthropology to aid in characterization of temper material in Late Woodland pottery sherds as part of an investigation into a local, Paleo-Indian site.

• Thesis Research, 2002-2004: My thesis research included work investigating the origin and nature of 1.4 Ga granites in southern Colorado and the thermal evolution of Proterozoic crust and consisted of a comparative study of the 1.44 Ga. Oak Creek Pluton and the 1.46 Ga. Eolus Granite.  Both the Oak Creek and the Eolus Granites occur as Mesoproterozoic plutons which intrude Paleoproterozoic crust.  This project involved field mapping of two areas on 1:6,000 and 1:12,000 scales.  Remote, rugged terrain afforded the opportunity to gain valuable field experience.  Two detailed maps were produced at 1:24,000 and 1:50,000.  Work included an 40Ar/39Ar study and extensive qualitative and quantitative petrologic analyses to develop a P-T-t-D path for two separate terranes.                 

• Undergraduate Research, 2000-2001: Conducted a kinematic analysis along the contact of the Baltimore Gneiss and the Setters Formation within the western limb of the Towson Anticline.  Research was conducted as part of an undergraduate thesis and included a structural study at the macro-, meso-, and microscopic scales, as well as petrographic analyses to differentiate episodes of deformation and discriminate tectonic events.    

• Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Summer 2000: Investigated the origin of the Carroll Knob Ultramafic Complex using geological, geophysical, and geochemical techniques.  Completed the research project as a member of an REU program and produced three abstracts presented with posters at the Southeastern Geological Society of America annual meeting.