Research Group

Education

2019 Ph.D. Geological Sciences Department of Geological Sciences; The University of Texas at Austin; Jackson School of Geosciences

2014 B.S. Geology/Engineering Geology Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences; University of California, Los Angeles

2011 Geology Transfer Credentials Moorpark Community College

Professional Experience

2023-       Assistant Professor- University of California, San Diego

2020-2023      Assistant Professor- University of Nevada-Las Vegas

2019                Postdoctoral Fellow- Utah State University

2016 -  2018    Associate Instructor- Geology Field Camp, The University of Texas at Austin

2014 -  2019    Teaching & Research Assistant- The University of Texas at Austin

2012 - 2014     Laboratory Technician Luminescence Dating and Research Laboratory - UCLA

Chloë Weeks (PhD exp 2026)

B.S. Bryn Mawr College

M.S. University of Idaho

PhD Thesis: Phanerozoic polyphase deformation recorded in exotic Grenville basement of Argentina

Weeks, C., Odlum, M., L., Mackaman-Lofland., C., Ortiz G., Fosdick, J.C., and Capaldi, T.N. (2023) Exhumation history of the Sierra Pie de Palo uplift and implications for tectonic drivers of broken foreland basin evolution, Argentina. Geological Society of America Connects, Pittsburg, PA.

M.S. Thesis (University of Idaho) Post-Laramide Exhumation and Topography in the Madison and Gallatin Ranges of Southwest Montana from Apatite (U-Th)/He Thermochronometry

Ian Gillette (M.S. exp 2024)

B.S. Weber State University

Thesis: Stratigraphic response to Paleogene-Miocene tectonic mode switch in Cordilleran hinterland: A case study in the Bear Lake Plateau, UT-ID-WY

Gillette, I., Capaldi, T.N., Ritenour, T.M., Di Fiori, R., Anderson, R.B., and Pederson, J.L. (2024) Stratigraphic response to Cenozoic extension in the Cordilleran Hinterland: A case study from the Northeast Basin and Range, Idaho-Utah-Wyoming. Geological Society of America Cordillera and Rocky Mountain Section Joint Meeting, Spokane, WA.

Odinaka Okwueze (B.S. exp 2025)

Undergrad Research: Multi-mineral geochronology from Iceland modern river sands

Okwueze, O., Konrad, K., Capaldi, T.N. (2023) New detrital methodology for mafic terrains: Single basalt grain incremental 40Ar/39Ar age determinations. Geological Society of America Connects, Pittsburg, PA.

Okwueze, O., Konrad, K., Capaldi, T., in revision, New Developments in Incremental Heating Detrital 40Ar/39Ar Lithic (DARL) Geochronology using Iceland River Sand. Geochronology.

James Duncan (M.S. 2022)

B.S. Boise State University

UNLV Thesis: The Antler Orogeny recorded in detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry, southern Nevada

Now Production Geologist at Nevada Gold

Duncan, J.T., Capaldi, T.N., Wells, M.L., Odlum, M.L., DeFelice, C. (2022) The Antler Orogeny recorded in detrital multi-mineral U-Pb geochronology, southern Nevada. Geological Society of America Cordillera and Rocky Mountain Section Joint Meeting, Las Vegas, NV.

Duncan, J.T., Capaldi, T.N., Wells, M.L., Odlum, M.L., DeFelice, C. (2022) The Antler Orogeny recorded in detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology, southern Nevada. Geological Society of Nevada Symposium, Sparks, NV.

Zoey Plonka (M.S. 2022)

B.S. University of Michigan

UNLV Thesis: Along strike tectonic evolution of the Neogene Bermejo foreland basin and Eastern Precordillera thrust front, Argentina (30-32ºS)

Now Research Scientist at the Arizona Geological Survey

Plonka, Z.C., Capaldi, T.N., Odlum, M.L., Ortiz, G., Mackaman-Lofland, C., Alvarado, P. (2023) Along strike tectonic evolution of the Neogene Bermejo foreland basin and eastern Precordillera thrust front, Argentina (30-32ºs). Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 129, 104521.

Plonka, Z.C., Capaldi, T.N., Odlum, M.L., Ortiz, G., Alvarado, P. (2022) Tracking the Neogene tectonic evolution of the active Andean thrust front using the foreland basin record and detrital geo-/thermochronology, western Argentina (28–30ºS). Geological Society of America Cordillera and Rocky Mountain Section Joint Meeting, Las Vegas, NV.

Plonka, Z.C., Capaldi, T.N., Odlum, M.L., Ortiz, G., Alvarado, P. (2021) Resolving along-strike Andean thrust front evolution using the foreland basin record in the flat slab region of Argentina. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland, OR.

Conner Callaway (B.S. 2023)

UNLV Undergrad Research: Depositional environment and sediment provenance of Tertiary-Cretaceous conglomerates of the Kingman Arch

Now a M.S. student at University of Nevada, Las Vegas