Simon Bantugan

I am a junior geology major from Los Angeles, CA. I am interested in Geology as a whole, especially volcanic systems. In the spring of 2022, I did research with Dr. Anne Sheehan, conducting literature reviews for a machine learning project on volcanic seismicity with the 2012 Te Maari eruptions in New Zealand. I am still working with Anne, and her postdoc Matt Mendoza, helping work with the FORGE project in Utah on induced seismicity. The data we are gathering comes from new distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology. Currently, I am also working with US Geological Survey in the “Biogeochemistry and Mineralogy of Redox-active Environmental Systems” laboratory run by Dr. Kate Campbell and Tyler Kane. At USGS, I am helping with data management and lab work on geochemical data from acid-mine drainage sites, like the superfund site at Iron Mountain Mine near Redding, CA. All of these research projects provide exceptional opportunities to gain research experience while participating in exciting research.