My research focuses on the Earth's lithosphere and mantle -- I am interested in the forces that drive plate tectonics, mountain building, earthquakes, and other phenomena, and the interaction between deformation and the mechanial properties (rheology) of rocks on a range of length-scales.

For my PhD research, I looked at anisotropy -- the direction-dependence of material properties such as seismic wave speeds, viscosity, etc. anisotropy allows us to remotely detect the direction at which the material is deforming. Anisotropy of mechanical properties of rocks affects the manner by which they response to applied forcing and changes the inernal flow in the mantle.

My thesis is available here

Below are a few examples of my research:

Anisotropic viscosity in flow models  |    Seismic anisotropy in eastern Tibet   |   Thermo-chemical mixing in the mantle

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