Curriculum vitae

Background photo: a Re filament loaded for Sr isotopic analyses. Photo by Lori Willhite.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

EDUCATION

2019 - present

University of Maryland, College Park

Department of Geology

PhD student

Cosmochemistry

Planetary geochemistry/geology

2017 - 2019

University of California, Santa Barbara

Department of Earth Science

Master of Science

2012 - 2016

University of California, Santa Barbara

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, B.A.

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, B.S.

Department of Earth Science, minor

Novel instrumentation and analytical methods

Community Involvement & Service

Kids Excelling in Math and Science (KEMS) mentor

After school science program for middle school students

Geological Society of America Planetary Geology Division Student Representative

Student representative and student advisor on GSA student advisory committee

Health and Wellness Chair, UCSB Earth Science

Created the Health and Wellness Chair within the Department of Earth Science graduate student government at UCSB. Organized mental health workshop for graduate students

Goldschmidt Conference Convener 2021

Serving as a primary convener in the upcoming Goldschmidt Conference

Department Service & Leadership

Science Nights

Teaching elementary school students about rocks, minerals, fossils, and earthquakes

ACE Chemistry Tutoring Program

Helped start the Academic Community of Excellence Chemistry tutoring program at UCSB, aimed at teaching both chemistry and academic success skills to historically excluded groups of students in STEM

IDEA Communications Committee, UMD Geology

Committee with the goal of communicating department opportunities and activities to the greater community and connecting with UMD Geology alumni

IDEA Outreach Committee, UMD Geology

Committee with the goal of reaching out to the greater community to create an inclusive and accessible future for the geosciences

"How to Apply to Graduate School" Panel, UMD Geo

Organized a panel of grad students for our undergraduates to ask questions about the graduate school application process (as well as alternate career paths)

Women's Lunches, UMD Geology

Organized women's lunches to foster informal mentorship and a strong sense of community support within the department

Mental Health Peer

Liaison for student organizations to find and access mental health resources on campus and in the community at UCSB

Alumni Chair, UCSB Earth Science

Helped maintain database of alumni, organize alumni weekend, etc

"Applying to Graduate School" Panel, UMD Geo

Served on a panel for undergraduates to ask questions about the graduate school application process

Awards, Grants, Fellowships

Amelia Earhart Fellowship, Zonta International, 2020-2021
Goldschmidt Conference Grant, 2021
Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) Student Travel Award, 2020
Geological Society of America CARES Grant, 2020
Dean’s Fellowship Award, University of Maryland College Park, 2019
Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) Student Travel Award, 2019
George Tunnel Endowed Fellowship, Department of Earth Science, UCSB, 2019
Global Field Travel Award, Department of Earth Science, UCSB, 2019
Service to Undergraduate and Graduate Well-Being Award, Royal Geologic Society of Goleta, 2019
Grad Slam! Winner for best oral presentation, Department of Earth Science, UCSB, 2018
Preston Cloud Award, Department of Earth Science, UCSB, 2018
Graduate Research Grant, Geological Society of America, 2018
Conference Travel Grant, Graduate Student Association, UCSB, 2018
Undergraduate Research and Creative Studies Grant, UCSB 2016
Phi Lambda Upsilon Award, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCSB, 2016

Mentorship Experience

Teaching Experience

Gordon Williams

undergraduate research project, 2019

Maddy Raith

undergraduate research project, 2020

Mantle geochemistry

Introduction to Geology TA
- UCSB Earth Science, Fall 2017
Geologic Catastrophes TA
- UCSB Earth Science, Winter 2017
Field Methods TA
- UCSB Earth Science, Spring 2018
Mineralogy (Earth Materials) TA
- UCSB Earth Science, Fall 2018
Introduction to Geology TA
- UCSB Earth Science, Winter 2018
Petrology TA
- UMD Geology, Spring 2022

Senior Dog Sanctuary

Volunteer at dog rescue shelter for senior dogs

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Volunteered at the SPCA in Wellington, New Zealand while studying abroad in 2015

Memberships

Geochemical Society

Geological Society of America

American Geophysical Union

European Geosciences Union

National Association of Geoscience Teachers

Association of Women Geologists

Europlanet Society

Earth Science Women's Network

Females in Mass Spectrometry

IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society

IEEE Women in Engineering

Canine Training Association

Guest Appearance on "Volcano Moments with Dr. Janine Krippner" YouTube Episode: Fancy Rock Party

Talked about lava bombs for outreach via YouTube!

Arevalo Jr., R. D., Willhite, L. N., Bardyn, A., Ni, Z., Ray, S., Southard, A., Danell, R., Grubisic, A., Gundersen, C., Minasola, N., Yu, A., Fahey, M., Hernandez, E., Briois, C., Thirkell, L., Colin, F., and Makarov, A. (in proof)

Robert W. Nicklas, Rachel K.M. Hahn, Lori N. Willhite, Matthew G. Jackson, Vittorio Zanon, Ricardo Arevalo, James M.D. Day. (2022) Oxidized mantle sources of HIMU- and EM-type Ocean Island Basalts. Chemical Geology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2022.120901.

Willhite, L. N., Ni, Z., Arevalo Jr., R. D., Southard, A., Bardyn, A., Danell, R., Grubisic, A., Gundersen, C., Minasola, N., Fahey, M., Yu, A., Briois, C., Thirkell, L., Colin, F., Hernandez, E., Ersahin, A., and Makarov, A. (2021). CORALS: A Laser Desorption /Ablation Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer for In Situ Exploration of Europa. 2021 IEEE Aerospace Conference. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9438221

M.G. Jackson, J. Blichert-Toft, S.A. Halldórsson, A. Mundl-Petermeier, M. Bizimis, M.D. Kurz, A.A. Price , S. Harðardóttir, L.N. Willhite, K. Breddam, T.W. Becker, R.A. Fischer (2020). Ancient helium and tungsten isotopes preserved in mantle domains least modified by crustal recycling. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 202009663; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2009663117

Willhite, L. N., Jackson, M. G., Blichert‐Toft, J., Bindeman, I., Kurz, M. D., Halldórsson, S. A., et al. (2019). Hot and heterogenous high‐3He/4He components: New constraints from proto‐Iceland plume lavas from Baffin Island. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 20. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GC008654