From left: Xizhen Schenk, Katherine Fornash, and David Young, new geological sciences faculty
The Geological Sciences Department welcomes three new faculty members this fall.
Dr. Katherine Fornash joins the department as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. She received her B.S. in Geosciences from the University of Arizona, and her Ph.D. from the structure, tectonics, and metamorphic petrology group at the University of Minnesota.
Her research focuses on geochemical and tectonic processes at convergent margins, including the timing and rates of subduction, exhumation, and associated metamorphism, the deformation and rheological behavior of the subducted oceanic crust and sediments, and the nature and effects of fluid-rock interaction. Her Ph.D. focused on understanding the chemical and physical effects of fluid-rock interaction in subduction zones by studying the record of fluid-rock interaction preserved in high-pressure rocks and minerals from the Sivrihisar Massif, Turkey, one of the deepest known exposures of lawsonite eclogite. Her postdoctoral work focused on understanding microstructures and fabric development in lawsonite, with the goal of understanding how they affect the seismic properties of subducted slabs. She has ongoing projects in NW Turkey and the southern Appalachians.
Dr. Xizhen Schenk joins the department as an Assistant Professor of Instruction. She received her Ph.D. in Geology from Florida State University and comes to Ohio University from the Department of Geology & Geography at Georgia Southern University.
“I am a broadly trained geoscientist with both professional and academic experiences in hydrology, hydrogeology, GIS, and geospatial statistics,” notes Schenk. “I have extensive college teaching experience in subjects such as environmental geology, GIS, and spatial analysis. My research interests and activities revolve around better understanding of the interactions among water, climate and human activities. I am very excited to become a member of the Department of Geological Sciences.”
Dr. David Young joins the department as a Visiting Assistant Professor. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Barabara. Before joining Ohio University, he was at Ohio State University, where he taught structural geology, hazards, planet Earth, and the summer field camp. He also served as a geologist in a variety of roles in Australia and Tanzania before returning to academia.
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