Nick Holschuh

My Ph.D. research focused on improved data processing and interpretation for radar data collected in Antarctica and Greenland. As we move toward more quantitative interpretation of radar reflection amplitudes, it is important that we identify all of the sources of power variability introduced both by physical processes and as an artifact of the imaging process. My attempted to identify and isolate several of these controls, and develop new automated methods for quantitative description of the data. The end goal of this research is to develop products that can be used to constrain ice-sheet models.

Over two summers, I conducted research into 4D seismic processing techniques, with a focus on time-shift analysis and acoustic impedance inversion. Seismic time lapse data has the potential to inform production schedules and practices for industry, but there remains potential to improve processing algorithms to produce a cleaner interpretation product. The team I worked with is developing novel processing methods to help determine acoustic impedance changes in the subsurface during hydrocarbon extraction. This work led to a patent.

The role of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) is to provide real time monitoring of earthquakes, and evaluate the tsunami generation potential of seismic events in the Pacific. This has historically been done using models which approximate the size, shape, and orientation of the fault plane based on magnitude and location of the earthquake, assuming all earthquakes occur at the depth of plate boundary, on the decollement, and have a reverse sense of motion. My job was to evaluate a numerically simple, but fully customizable tsunami model against historic data, to determine if the simple model would be useful for active warning despite the numerical simplifications. I also tested the models sensitivity to different fault orientations. This research was funded by the Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Program.

(1) Helped develop a spatial autoregression package in R to determine the real value of land using house prices from California. (2) I developed and conducted a seasonal survey of the surface water chemistry of Rice County, MN, over 5 seasons. The objective was to see the spatial and temporal variation of contaminants in the surface water. I collected the samples, analyzed the water using alkalinity titrations and ion chromatography, and performed statistical analysis of the data in ArcGIS. (3) Assisted in the statistical analysis of paleomagnetic data collected in Southern California.

As primary instructor for the course, I lead 12 weeks of lecture and lab, wrote course content (including homework and exams), lead a course field trip to the glaciers of Mt. Baker, and supervised a graduate TA. The first half of the course focused on ice physics, from nucleation in the atmosphere to macro-scale dynamics in glaciers and ice sheets. The second half is special topics in glaciology, discussing sea ice, permafrost dynamics, ice core science, and glaciers in the news.

I lectured on subsurface imaging techniques, with a focus on active source acoustics and electromagnetics in the cryosphere.

I lectured on C14 production and decay, including the modern alibration techniques used to convert C14 concentrations into a robust age scale.

I guest lectured for one week on ice dynamics, including the physics of ice flow, the controls on ice sheet balance, and observational methods at the poles. This included the creation and execution of a lab, using the data from the SeaRISE project to illustrate how Antarctica is not a uniform region, but its dynamics vary dramatically by catchment.

I lectured on the basics of linear time-invariant systems, and the convolutional model of the earth. Included in these lessons were a discussion of predictive filtering for multiple removal in active source seismic surveys.

I lectured on the physics of Earth's overall energy balance and energy distribution. This included an analysis of the solar cycle, atmospheric dynamics, ocean circulation, and the coriolis effect.

Conducted weekly lab sessions, teaching the students about basic geophysics and the use of geophysical instruments in the lab and the field.

Lead two weekly sessions, one focused on the weekly problem sets and one a general supplementary lecture for struggling students

Attended three weekly lectures and lead one weekly lecture and problem set help session.

Co-lead weekly labs focusing on metamorphic processes, phase diagrams, and mineral relationships. Helped to lead field trips, taught operation of the XRD, and operation of the SEM for the students' individual P-T analysis.

Co-lead weekly labs focusing on concepts in optical mineralogy and crystallography. I also provided bi-weekly office hours for individual questions from students.

In 2015, I completed the College Teaching Certification through Penn State's Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. This consisted of two teaching classes, two semesters of supervised teaching, and the development of a professional website.

My role as the graduate writing tutor was to serve as a resource for individual undergraduate students who need help with their coursework or resumes, to address both specific concerns and general questions about writing style and organization.

I served as a math and science tutor for the Northfield, MN public school system. This consisteted of 2 hours in a classroom, twice a week for the 2007-2008 school year. I worked primarily with 1st through 6th grade students, both in math and in earth science.