Summer 2026

We had a busy lab once again this summer. Two undergraduate students, Jake Dobson and Daniel Lukens, joined us through the NSF-funded REU program. Jake worked on an experimental study of the grain size effect on viscosity of two-phase slurries, thinking about volcanic flows. Daniel worked on fluid transport through ice, using different silicone standards to see if fluid viscosity had an effect on compaction rates. We also had two high school intern for part of the summer: Reuben Belasco and Camille Pimentel. Reuben worked on the play off between regelation and viscous deformation, and the dependence on thermal conductivity, when ice deforms atop hard particles. Camille used trial and error to find the optimal temperature and rotation velocity to fabricate frazil ice in saline and then measured the fluid viscosity of the resulting slurry. Everyone gave weekly status reports. Lots of great science was happening all summer. 

But we also had time for some fun. At one point during the summer, inspired during a snack shopping spree, Caitlin and Abhishek decided to hold a Doritos taste test, that is, a test to see if we can tell the difference between traditional doritos, the new Simply NKD version without dyes, and an off brand version. We were pleasantly surprised with the results (the dye free are perfectly acceptable!) A presentation was made. Eyes were closed. Results were tallied. We took it very seriously.

Einat's fluids lab and Austin's river lab both had summer interns as well. With so many people in the warehouse for the summer, we decided to hold three all-instrument building Friday afternoon parties (every other week from midJune - July). It was a great way to get to know people and relax after a long week of research. 

We had darts, corn hole, potluck snacks, and the star event of each party was a ping pong tournament, with a whole bracket system coordinated by Charlotte. 

                                

Cheng won the first tourney

Jake won the second

Winners were presented with the cherished pineapple. Of course.

Austin brought home the last pineapple of the summer.

My kids joined in the last party. Maybe next year we'll splurge and track down chairs...

Shots from the lab

 Just some miscellaneous pics from the lab over the years.

Rob, Ted, Ben and I think Genevieve, check out polarized screen to prep for an Open House exhibit

High School students checking the shortening of a cheese deformation

Visiting grad student Daning and I in front of the old triax set up.

Kris is using the microscope to image compacted firn.

Seb transports ice samples in the lab

Cassandra traces grains for a grain growth study.

Sometimes I think we should try to get money from Carhartt. We wear a lot of it. On the left Thomas gets ready to go back in the walk in with his sample that has been pulled out of LN. On the right, Daniel, Caitlin, and Charlotte share the tiny freezer space, showing off their Carhartt gear in action. 

Cheers to Dr. Zaman!

 Although the lab has of course graduated many a student over the years, this May was the graduation of my very first grad student. On the auspicious day of April 1, Mahi successfully defended his thesis! In addition to Sean, Meredith and I, outside reviewers Colin Meyers (Dartmouth) and Geoff Collins (Wheaton College) were on his committee (Geoff in person, Colin zooming in). He did an excellent job both in describing his dissertation to an audience with varied backgrounds, but also in defending the science questions we had. 

We had a party back in the lab's conference room, where he got to don and sign the official DEES gown...

Mahi had many of his friends and family in attendance, with more family members zooming in.

Cheers to Dr. Zaman!

And a few months later we were able to celebrate again formally. It was my first time walking in the parade of faculty and it was a big honor to be allowed to hood Mahi in the official ceremony. 

Ted Retirement Party

 After a long and exciting career with us, Ted is retiring. We threw a small barbecue going away party for him, inviting many of the people at Lamont (or retired) that have worked alongside Ted through the years. 

A case of rolling rocks (historical drink of the lab) was donated by Chris Marone.

A round of shots may or may not have been consumed while I was away at a meeting.

Even the geese (who are fed regularly by Ted) came by to give their regards.

And Hatsuki arranged this amazing tribute, getting input and old photos from loads of people from over the years. 

Shots from the machine shop

Just a collection of shots from the machine shop:

Undergrad intern Claire McGillis helps machine a new cryostat: 

That time Elenore came to the lab and Ted got her to work on the old triax

Vincent using the surface grinder to prep side rocks for his ice-on-rock friction project

Ted explains the surface grinder to Dan, who is helping prep samples for carbonation experiments.

I make Seth stop and show off his first attempt at freezing in a transducer to capture seismicity during sliding of ice on till.

Hatsuki begins fabricating a box within which she will make a spray foam insulation mold.

 

Reassembling the old biax

When me moved to the machine shop, aka the Instrument Building, the biax needed to be taken apart. And there it sat on a pallet in the warehouse for years. But I didn't want Ted to retire before we put it back together. He was, after all, the only one who could decipher the specs. 

sort of....

With Charlotte's help, the pieces were all located and a plan put in motion.

And with Abhishek manning the chain fall, inner parts were eventually placed inside the outer parts. 

We would probably need to redo the motor and definitely the control system if we were to use it again, but it is now successfully reassembled and awaiting some new project.

Open House 2024!

 This year we did a few new things at the annual Open House. There was a collection of Lunar samples and meteorites visiting us from the Natural History Museum, so they asked for some us to be inside Comer to talk about rocks and minerals. Abhishek and I took turns describing this modest collection of rock types.

It was fun to talk about Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary rocks. I also tried to sneak in some info about Europa and the Clipper mission (which had just launched the week before) whenever I could. 

Meanwhile out in the tent, we had our usual collection of earthquake related exhibits.  Also I upped my game this year and instead of just the subduction cake, I went all in and made a cake for each plate boundary: divergent, convergent, and transform.

In general I would say that the cakes were a big hit. But I'll admit that it's hard to keep their focus on the science and plate tectonics when their eyes and minds are going "cake, cake, cake, when is she going to give me the cake".