Dan Mongovin (BS Geology, 2018)

After graduating from CWU in 2018, I received a NAGT/USGS Cooperative Summer Field Training Program internship offer to work for the USGS. I accepted an internship position as a Geologist at the USGS Earthquake Science Center in Menlo Park, CA. I was fortunate to have an internship during several surface rupturing earthquakes in Central and Southern California, where I had the opportunity to assist with cutting-edge rupture mapping and earthquake science research in the US's most earthquake-active states.

I took the skills I developed during my time at the USGS to graduate school at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. Now, in the second semester of my master's degree program, I'm developing a thesis based on the study of faults within the East African Rift System (EARS), one of the Earth's best examples of a continental divergent plate boundary. My focus is on describing and quantifying the geometry and kinematics of rift-bounding faults near Lake Albert, Uganda, in the magma-poor Western Branch of the EARS, to inform how these large fault systems accommodate continental divergence.

I will make use of a range of geologic methods for my project, many of which I learned during my time at CWU, including remote sensing, GIS, field mapping and sample collection. I plan to travel to Uganda, Africa for a one-month field season in the summer of 2021 to collect data that I will use for my project.

My time in the Geology Department at CWU has not only provided so many fantastic opportunities for me as a young geologist but has prepared me with the skills I needed to be successful in my ventures.

Hope things are well in Ellensburg and CWU, I think about my time there often. If any of the current students have questions about life as a CWU-geology alum, feel free to ask Nick for my email. I love having conversations with current geology students.