Michele Dodge

Background

About Michele Dodge

I am seeking opportunities that utilize my geologic background in both laboratory and field settings. My primary interest is igneous petrology, and I'm excited by work that spans a variety of geologic areas, including field mapping, volcanology, geochemistry, and statistics. I am a facetious employee who enjoys the challenge of keeping the workspace organized for optimal work flow. I am not shy about digging in and getting my hands dirty, whether it be in a warehouse or at a field site. Physical labor provides the perfect balance to academic endeavor. I am Master's candidate in Geology at San Jose State University, where my concentration is Igneous Petrology, Geochemistry, and Volcanology. I have completed my coursework, and I am currently editing my thesis, which involves linking the Miocene Searchlight pluton in southern Nevada to associated volcanic products, using geochemistry, geochronology, field relations, and multi-variable statistical analysis. As a Master's student, I discovered a love for teaching. I taught two introductory geology labs every semester for three years. I enjoyed sharing my enthusiasm for rocks and the messages hidden in them. In August 2023, I became a student contractor serving as a laboratory technician at the USGS Tephrochronology Project in Menlo Park. We moved our lab to Moffett Field in February 2024, so a lot of my work has been focused on organizing archival samples and archival data, as well as organizing the new (smaller) lab space for safety and efficiency. My regular duties include processing tephra samples via wet-sieving, acid-washing, and writing petrographic whole-grain descriptions.