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Nastassia Simon

Nastassia Simon obtained her Bachelor's of science in environmental studies with a subspecialty of atmospheric science in December of 2020 from the University of Houston. Her minor was energy and sustainability within the honors college. While working towards her BS, she received an undergraduate academic excellence scholarship in geoscience (2019). She joined UH as a GIS certification student in the Fall of 2022 in order to continue her studies in geosciences and remote sensing.   

Presley Greer

Presley Greer received a Bachelor's of Science in Geography from the University of North Texas (UNT) in 2017, then a Bachelor's of Science in Geophysics from the University of Houston in the Spring of 2022. During the Spring 2022 semester, he joined Dr. Khan in the field to conduct a GPR scan of the CRREL permafrost tunnel in Fairbanks, Alaska. He returned in the Fall of 2022 to begin studying for a Masters in Geophysics. Using the data he obtained in Alaska, he’s begun his research with a focus on ground penetrating radar applications to permafrost research. He currently works at the University of Houston as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for a Physical Geology Lab.

Alexandra Price

Alexandra earned her bachelor’s in geology with a minor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from Colorado Mesa University in western Colorado. She held a GIS internship with the Bureau of Land Management until she graduated (2016). After several years of field experience, she continued her education by earning her master’s in geology from the University of Texas Permian Basin (2019). Alexandra now teaches full-time as a geology instructor, where she enjoys engaging minds in geoscience. She began her Ph.D. studies (geology) at the University of Houston in the Spring of 2023, where her primary research focus is locating critical minerals by applying multispectral remote sensing techniques. 

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Ammar Hussain

Ammar Hussain completed BS & MPhil in Applied Geology from the University of the Punjab, Pakistan. He remained part of the services sector for several years, as a geologist for various projects ranging from mineral exploration to hydropower projects. His focus was the application of GIS and geospatial data sets in field & desk studies to acquire geological data of inaccessible regions around the country. He experienced extensive geological field works across the country. He joined the University of Houston as a Ph.D. (Geology) student in Fall 2022. His research is directed toward applying satellite-based and close-range remote sensing techniques (UAV photogrammetry, lidar, and hyperspectral imaging) in geological studies, including but not limited to geohazards, lithological and structural studies. 

Sara Rojas

Sara Rojas obtained her Bachelor of Science in Physics with a minor in Math from the University of Houston in 2019 before returning in the Fall of 2021 to begin her Masters in Geophysics. Her research involves analyzing episodic, annual, and decadal changes to beach and dune systems along the Texas Coast affected by hurricanes and tropical storms. Currently, she is a Ph.D. (Geophysics) student, utilizing LiDAR-derived digital elevation models to quantify long-term changes (2000-2020) to sections of Follett’s and Galveston Island surrounding the natural tidal inlet of San Luis Pass. 

Muhammad Younas

Muhammad Younas did his M.Sc. and M.Phil. in Geophysics from Quaid-I-Azam University, Pakistan. He worked as a Lecturer in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Bacha Khan University, Charsadda. Muhammad Younas joined the University of Houston as a Ph.D. (Geophysics) student in the Fall of 2021. His research is about the study of water resources and environmental effects using GIS and Remote Sensing techniques. 

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Saad Alabbasi

Saad Alabbasi earned his bachelor’s degree in geological science from the Department of Structural Geology and Remote Sensing at King Abdulaziz University. Alabbasi was a teaching assistant for two full semesters and one summer semester. During his time as a teaching assistant, Alabbasi taught Introduction to Structural Geology, Applications of Remote Sensing, and Field Geology courses. Alabbasi joined the University of Houston in the Fall of 2022 as a master's student. Alabbasi will conduct research on the applications of remote sensing and geographic information systems in structural geology and geology.

Alvaro Iglesias

Alvaro M. Iglesias originally joined the University of Houston as an undergraduate student in the fall of 2016, majoring in geology. As an undergraduate student, he helped edit and author published papers for Acta Mineralogica Houstonica, a student-run journal of mineral reviews in the spring of 2018. He received the Houston Geological Society Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship Award in the fall of 2018 and the Margaret Bishop Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Undergraduate Student Excellence Award in the spring of 2019 in recognition of outstanding academic achievement. He graduated in December of 2019 Magna Cum Laude at the top of his class. He began his Master's Degree in geology in the spring of 2020 at UH, with research focusing on analyzing the secondary diagenetic “bleaching” phenomenon of the Navajo Sandstone and related strata in the Colorado Plateau region using remote sensing technology, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and geochemical data.

Ozzy Tirmizi

Osman Tirmizi obtained his Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Geology and minor in Geophysics from the University of Houston. He returned the following semester as a Ph.D. student (Geology) in Fall 2019. He has traveled extensively, and has experience doing fieldwork in Texas, Oklahoma, Pakistan, and Svalbard. His research focuses on using remote sensing techniques and geospatial analysis to gain a better understanding of the interaction between neotectonics and coastal processes. He currently works as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (TA) at the University of Houston and teaches both introductory (Physical Geology) and advanced (Geologic Field Methods, Remote Sensing) labs. 

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Sachicko Sakai

Sachiko is an undergraduate student majoring in Geophysics with minors in geology and Mathematics. She received PURS scholarship to work on research in geophysics in the GeoRS lab.

Chandler Pippin

Chandler Pippin obtained his Bachelor’s of Science in geology from the University of Mississippi in May of 2020. In 2021, he joined the University of Houston as a graduate student working towards his Master’s degree in geology. Chandler has been working with T-Kartor and Maxar Technologies as a GIS Analyst implementing and managing data. His research focuses on using remote sensing techniques to observe changes in thermokarst landforms in northern Alaska. 

Muhammad Qasim

Muhammad Qasim received his BS (Hons.) in Geology, and MS in Remote Sensing and GIS from Pakistan. He served the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) as an Assistant Director (Geology) from 2014 to 2019. During this time, he had been involved in making the geodatabase of the 75-year research conducted by the GSP and the Mineral Map of Pakistan using GIS and Remote Sensing techniques. Additionally, he worked with the China Geological Survey for the geochemical investigation of 69 major and minor elements throughout the outcrop areas of Pakistan, and the Japan International Cooperative Agency (JICA) for the geological mapping of the outcrop areas of Pakistan. Qasim joined the University of Houston as a Ph.D. (Geology) student in Fall 2019. His research focuses on the study of economic minerals (especially Rare Earth Elements) using hyperspectral and multispectral remote sensing. As a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the UH, he has been teaching the labs of Geospatial Analysis and Applications, Remote Sensing, Stratigraphy/Sedimentology, and Physical Geology since 2019.

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Otto Gadea

Otto Gadea joined UH as a Ph.D. (Geophysics) student in Fall 2018. He majored in chemistry and minored in physics at Houston Baptist University, where he graduated magna cum laude from a four-year program in three years. His research focuses on utilizing ground-based hyperspectral imaging in different ways to assess the reliability of information obtained from observations made across larger scales (airborne and spaceborne resolutions), providing new insight into the origin, movement, and location of natural resources such as hydrocarbons and rare earth elements. Since 2019, he has mainly worked as a teaching assistant (TA) for advanced courses such as Remote Sensing or Geospatial Analysis and Applications, but he also has experience in introductory courses as well (Physical Geology).

Kamil Qureshi

Kamil Ahmed Qureshi obtained his undergrad degree in Geology from the University of Peshawar, Pakistan with a specialization in Carbonate Sedimentology. He completed his Master’s degree in Earth Sciences from COMSATS Islamabad (Abbottabad Campus), Pakistan with a specialization in Clastic Sedimentology & Reservoir Characterization. He has received an outstanding academic award during his Master’s degree. He worked as an Internee Geologist for an Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan in 2017 where he joined a team of professionals to solve complex structural and stratigraphic problems in the highly prolific Upper Indus Basin. He joined the University of Houston as a Ph.D. (Geology) student in Spring 2019. His current research focuses on integrating concepts of Geomorphology, Structural Geology & Tectonics using 2D Seismic Interpretation, GIS & Remote Sensing techniques to understand the structural variations across the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) in the Western Himalayas. At the University of Houston, he works as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (TA) and teaches both introductory level labs (Physical Geology, Historical Geology, Field Geology) and advanced level labs (Geospatial Analysis & Applications, Remote Sensing). 

Ph.D.

Dr. Aydin Shahtakhtinskiy

Ph.D. Geology, 2022

BP, Houston, Texas

Dr. Diana Krupnik

Ph.D. Geology, 2020

BS (Hons.), 2014

USGS, Boulder, CO

Dr. Lei Sun

Ph.D. Geology, 2018

MS Geology, 2014

Postdoc Univ. Houston

Dr. Proma Bhattacharyya

Ph.D. Geology, 2018

Geospatial Analyst, Omdena, Texas

Dr. Jingqiu Huang

Ph.D. Geophysics, 2017

Daphne Jackson Fellow, U. Edinburgh

Dr. Unal Okyay

Ph.D. Geology, 2017

Project Manager, Cobb, Fendley & Associates, Inc. Texas

Dr. Kivanc Biber

Ph.D. Geology, 2017

MS Geology, 2012

Data Scientist, Equinor, Houston

Dr. Ismail Abir

Ph.D. Geophysics, 2016; MS 2012

Faculty, Univ. of Science, Malaysia

Dr. John Epps

Ph.D. Geophysics, 2014

Dr. Shams ul-Hadi

Ph.D. Geology, 2012

Berger Geoscience, Houston 

Dr. Yingqian Xiong

Ph.D. Geology, 2011

Faculty, Northwestern University, Chicago

Dr. Ana Petrovic

Ph.D. Geology, 2010

MS Geology, 2006

Chevron

Dr. Aziz Ozyavas

Ph.D. Geology, 2010

Assistant Professor, Kocaeli University, Turkey

Dr. Damayanti Mukherjee

Ph.D. Geology, 2010

Bureau of Economic Geology, UT

Dr. Sergio Sarmiento

Ph.D. Geology, 2010

Repsol, Houston

Dr. Lize Chen

Ph.D. Geology, 2009

Associate Professor, China Earthquake Administration

Dr. Richard Engelkemeir 

Ph.D. Geology, 2008

Schlumberger, Houston

Masters

Alyssa Alvarado

M.S. Geology (2022)

Apple Maps

Halina Haider

M.S. Geology (Graduating, 2022)

Sendero Consulting, Dallas Texas

Onur Karaca

M.S. Geology, 2020

MTA Mineral Research, Turkey

Wanda Crupa

M.S. Geophysics, 2019
B.S. (HONS), 2016

Juhi Aggarwal

M.S. Geology, 2017

TDM Analyst, Shell Inc. Houston 

Virginia Alonso de Linaje

M.S. Geology, 2016

Environmental Scientist, AECOM, Madrid, Spain

Casey Snyder

M.S. Geology, 2015

Principal Engineer, Late Model Engines, Houston

Ayca Karacay

M.S. Geology, 2013

Wellsite Geologist, Turkiye Petrolleri A.O. Corporation

Jessica Quintanar

M.S. Geology, 2013

IHS Markit, Houston

Kevin Schmidt

M.S. Geophysics, 2013

Geophysicist, Seitel Inc., Houston

Xu Han

M.S. Geology, 2013

Manager, Flow Serve Corporation, Texas

Yahya Abubakar

M.S. Geology, 2012

Subsurface Data Analyst, IHS Markit, Colorado

Zheng Huang

M.S. Geology, 2012

Hess Corp. Texas

Maisam Ottoum

M.S. Geophysics, 2011

Manager, CEWAS, Middle East

Jana Gray

M.S. Geology, 2007

ION Geophysical, Houston

Ron Mart

M.S. Geology, 2007

Senior Geologist, CCUS, Texas

Jaime Fernendez

M.S. Geology, 2006

ION Geophysical, Houston

Sarah Jacobson

M.S. Geology, 2006

Manager, ExxonMobil

Yardenia Martinez

M.S. Geology, 2006

KMS Technologies, Houston

Undergraduates

Evan Onyango

B.S. (Hons.) Geophysics, 2016

Ph.D. Candidate, University of New Mexico

Ivette Gonzalez

B.S. Geophysics, 2016

Seitel Inc. Houston

Dr. Kirstie Haynie

B.S. (Hons.) Geophysics, 2014

Mendenhall Postdoc fellow, USGS, Colorado

Ezzedeen Alfataierge

B.S. (Hons.) Geophysics, 2011

ARAMCO

Macey Crockett

B.S. Geophysics

University of Alberta