contact

asavrda (at) geol.sc.edu

EDUCATION

M.S. University of South Carolina, 2011

B.S. Auburn University, 2008

research

I am using (U-Th)/He and fission-track analyses of apatite and zircon to better understand the exhumation history of rocks in the Southern Antarctic Peninsula. My research is focused on accretionary prism and fore-arc basin metasedimentary rocks of Alexander Island and magmatic arc rocks of Palmer Land. I am interested in improving our understanding of how the tectonic history of the Southern Antarctic Peninsula relates to that of the Northern Antarctica Peninsula and Tierra del Fuego, and what insight these relationships might provide into the overall tectonic history of the region, especially regarding the opening of the Drake Passage. Broadly, my interests lie in the complex interactions between climate and tectonics.

teaching experience

GEOL 325: Stratigraphy and Sedimentary Basins

GEOL 201: Observing the Earth

GEOL 101: Introduction to Earth

news

Amanda completed her M.S. and began her career at ExxonMobil in Houston, Texas.

Amanda returned to her hometown and Alma Mater as the Alumna Speaker at Auburn University’s 6th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. In her presentation, Amanda talked about the importance of research in undergraduate education and had the opportunity to speak about her current work at South Carolina and her adventures during Team Barbeau’s 2008-2009 Antarctic field season.

In Fall of 2008, Amanda represented the Geosciences when she served on a panel of 4 female scientists at Auburn University’s 3rd Annual Society for Women in Sciences and Mathematics Symposium. Amanda was the first Geologist and also the youngest woman to serve as a panelist in the Symposium’s 3 year history. The Symposium is held each year to encourage mentorship relationships between Alabama high school girls interested in careers in the sciences and mathematics, Auburn University female students and faculty, and women with academic and professional careers in science and math across the nation.

other

In my spare time, I enjoy reading and writing short essays and poetry, painting (usually acrylic), cooking large meals, making music (particularly satirical raps), and photo-documenting the lives of those around me. I love being outside and I have a healthy obsession with the sounds of falling water and the feeling of warm sun hitting my face. I feel pretty lucky to be even a temporary resident of such a dynamic and changing planet. I love teaching, because it affords me the opportunity to get other people excited about the way the Earth works, too.