Laura is a PhD student in the Department of Earth Sciences, under the advisement of Dr. Chris Scholz. Her research interests are the sedimentology and geochemistry of non-marine carbonate rocks, and her doctoral research focuses on depositional processes of these rocks in rift lakes of the Basin and Range. She is also passionate about geoscience education and outreach, and has been an instructor for the GeoFORCE Texas high school outreach program. Laura has a BS Geology from Western Kentucky University, and an MS Geosciences from The University of Texas at Austin. Before attending Syracuse University, Laura worked as an exploration geologist in the oil and gas industry in Houston for almost six years.