Geology

DC-area geology, and more broadly, the geology of Virginia, and the geology of the Appalachian mountain belt. (Subtopics: Assembly of Rodinia, breakup of Rodinia and opening of the Iapetus Ocean, Assembly of Pangea, breakup of Pangea and opening of the Atlantic Ocean, & local fossils.) I've been working as the "Geoscientist in the Park" for the C&O Canal National Historical Park, helping to develop some learning materials related to that park's geology, which encompasses almost every episode of mid-Atlantic geologic history. Also, I serve as a Councilor in the Geological Society of Washington. Our meetings are free and open to the general public.

West coast geology: specifically California's checkered ancient past as a subduction zone (I did my master's thesis research (photos) in the Sierra Nevada, the roots of a magmatic arc that has been elevated to great heights (and then glaciated into some gorgeous terrain).

Rocky Mountain geology: In 2007, I started working on a new master's degree in Science Education at Montana State University, and through a series of field courses this past summer (photos), I've piqued my interest in the story of the Rockies over time.

Snowball Earth, the controversial hypothesis that the entire planet froze over, all the way to the equator, in the Neoproterozoic era of geologic time. (I teach a course on this topic in alternate summers.)

Climate change: if our society chooses to attempt to prevent it from continuing, it's going to be a huge challenge. Since this is such a hot topic, I attempt to stay up on the latest research, and helped to organize the NOVA Climate Change Symposium in early 2008.

Building stones: We make buildings out of rocks. Inadvertently, sometimes the buildings end up as good as a museum for showing different features. DC is particularly good as a showcase for many different building stones.

History of science, including evolution of scientific thought on issues like plate tectonics, mass extinctions, and natural selection.

Intersections of geology and human history, like how sea level rise during the Bronze Age may have begat the flood stories of many religious traditions, or how the eruption of the volcano Tambora (in Indonesia) in 1815 indirectly triggered the writing of Frankenstein in 1816.

Non-geology

Emerging technologies in education (blogs, podcasts, distance learning)

Information design (Good Powerpoint vs. Bad Powerpoint, graphing, the works of Edward Tufte)

The outdoors: Camping, cycling, caving, birding, staring at trees, staring at stars, & staring at campfires. Oh yes, and staring at rocks, too.

Travel: Favorites so far: Thailand, Mongolia, Namibia, Ireland, and Alaska. (Goals for the next several years: Indonesia, Newfoundland, Patagonia, Antarctica, New Zealand, Madagascar, & locales critical to the evolution of geologic thought in Scotland, Wales, and England.)

Art: cartooning, woodcut block prints, photography, & sculpture.

Culture: Lost, Harry Potter, the works of Jared Diamond, Netflix, the Talking Heads, NPR, the works of Frank McCourt, the Pixies, Sergio Aragonés Groo the Wanderer, the Strawberry Festival, the Smithsonian, 94.7 the Globe, Arrested Development, early 24, early REM, Heroes, the works of Bruce Chatwin, Bloom County, Firefly, Natalie McMaster's Cape Breton music, Six Feet Under, documentaries, Volkswagen Vangon Westfalia camper conversions, the works of Bill Bryson, Freakonomics, everything ever written by John McPhee, the New Yorker, WIRED...

Food & drink: Sustainable cuisine, farmer's markets, coffee(!), bread, Thai cuisine, weird species (like marmot, camel, alligator, & cicadas), fish tacos, chocolate, & homebrewed ale.