{"id":60185,"date":"2020-07-10T08:20:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T15:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=60185"},"modified":"2020-07-29T16:05:37","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T23:05:37","slug":"alexis-riche-grfp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/alexis-riche-grfp\/","title":{"rendered":"NAU doctoral student using NSF grant to fund research into the mysteries of the Colorado Plateau"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Colorado Plateau is a 240,000-square-mile stretch of elevated land that stretches through the Four Corners area. Flagstaff sits at the southern end of this geographically varied, physically striking plateau, which has drawn scientists from throughout the world to study it.<\/p>\n

Despite that, the Colorado Plateau remains a bit of an enigma for one simple reason\u2014it is about 2,000 meters in elevation, which is noticeably higher than the surrounding areas. And no one is quite sure why.<\/p>\n

Alexis Riche<\/strong>, a second-year doctoral student studying geology in Northern Arizona University\u2019s School of Earth and Sustainability (SES), is hoping to answer that question in her research. She got a boost in that work when she was selected for the National Science Foundation\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), a prestigious national fellowship for STEM students. The fellowship, which provides three years of funding, will allow Riche to get a little more creative with her research than being funded by a specific grant allowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can broaden the scope of my research and really pursue other interesting things I find or skills I want to build as I progress,\u201d said Riche, who earned her bachelor\u2019s degree from George Washington University. \u201cOne of the exciting parts about this is I don\u2019t have to decide what I\u2019m going to do for my whole Ph.D. right now. I have the freedom to pursue things as they arise and I discover new things, so my research can evolve and stay relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riche started at NAU as a master\u2019s student, recruited by SES professor Mary Reid<\/strong> on an interdisciplinary project taking on the mystery behind the Colorado Plateau\u2019s height. She switched to a Ph.D. after her first year, giving her the chance to spend more time on her research.<\/p>\n

\u201cLexi has impressed me with her poise and with her willingness to be challenged, seek feedback and accept criticism so that she can advance as a scientist,\u201d Reid said. \u201cShe also recognizes that science will evolve over the course of a Ph.D. and that it is important to seize opportunities. The GRFP should help her to do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geological research<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Most people in northern Arizona don\u2019t think much about why the elevation here is what it is. It\u2019s a high desert, said with a shrug as one tries to explain why it\u2019s so different from the rest of Arizona. Or it\u2019s \u201cup the mountain\u201d from Phoenix. But for geologists, that elevation, known as uplift, is a thorny question.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis uplift is currently still unexplained, heavily debated and likely complex,\u201d Riche said.<\/p>\n

Her doctoral research, which she\u2019s continuing this summer in Flagstaff, focuses on integrating geochemical, geophysical and thermodynamic data to propose an uplift mechanism for the physiographic feature that defines this part of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cUplifted plateaus like the Colorado Plateau lie at high elevations compared to their surroundings,\u201d Reid said. \u201cVarious factors have been proposed for this, making this a subject of lively debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riche is using geochemical tools to examine whether the mantle under the Colorado Plateau region is unusually rich in water because of the way an oceanic tectonic plate was thrust beneath it. Hydration would have increased the buoyancy of this part of the continent and could have implications for other plateaus.<\/p>\n

Women in STEM work<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Riche had her first woman mentor in graduate school.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t why, during her second semester at NAU, she joined Project Exploration of Recruitment of Earth Scientists (EXPLORES) and encourages students who are interested in STEM to learn more about geology, regardless of their field. However, that work did lead Riche to her secondary research\u2014why women join and remain in NAU\u2019s geology program even as women are underrepresented in STEM programs and fields throughout the nation.<\/p>\n

The germ for this research, which has been submitted to the Journal of Geoscience Education, started when Riche, who had experience in chemistry, joined EXPLORES and started auditing labs, building relationships and connecting undergraduate STEM students with peers in the geology department.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started interviewing more advanced students in geology to get an idea of what they liked about the program, and we realized that we had the opportunity to really showcase why our department was attractive to women,\u201d she said. \u201cThere were so many female students that wanted to talk to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

She focused on women, but, Riche said, women are only one of groups that remain underrepresented in geology and other STEM fields. Geology remains a male-dominated field and one that could benefit from more diversity in its practitioners.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn general, it was difficult for me to navigate academia, both as a woman and a first-generation student,\u201d Riche said. \u201cSeeing as I favored science over the humanities in college, it was even harder to find someone I could relate to that could understand where I was coming from. Having representation in the field you want to go into is really important both for self-efficacy and visualizing that there is a place for you in this field, and I think that\u2019s something geology lacks right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The GRFP and next steps<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Like most grant applications, the GRFP is lengthy and involved; successful applications require time and careful attention. Riche offered a few tips for any students interested in applying:<\/p>\n