I am a Physical Scientist at the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center in Reston, Virginia, where I work on the USGS Glaciated Regions Geologic Mapping Project. I also manage the Sediment Petrology Laboratory for the Bascom Center.

Employment

2023 - present: Physical Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Reston, Virginia.

Glaciated Regions Geologic Mapping Project (2023 - present). I work with Dr. Brandon Graham and other USGS scientists, focusing on mapping of bedrock and surficial (Quaternary) deposits in the northern US. I also manage the Sediment Petrology Laboratory for the Bascom Center, which includes pXRF, microscopy, and laser-diffraction (LD) grain size analysis equipment.

2018 - 2023: Student Trainee (Physical Science), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Reston, Virginia. I worked with Dr. Christopher Swezey and other USGS scientists on the following projects:

Glaciated Regions Geologic Mapping Project (2022 - 2023)
Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Project (2019 - 2022)
Geology of the Appalachian and Illinois Basins (2018 - 2019)

2020 - 2023: Graduate Research / Teaching Assistant, North Carolina State University, Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Master's Thesis: "Interpreting seismic reflection imagery to reconstruct late Quaternary earthquake history at Lake Crescent, Washington, USA."

2017 - 2019: Undergraduate Laboratory Assistant, James Madison University, Department of Geology & Environmental Science, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Honors Thesis: "Grain size and vegetation as controlling variables for stream channel morphology."

Education and Certifications

M.S. (2023) - Earth Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.
B.S. (2019) - Geology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
B.A. (2019) - Modern Foreign Languages - Spanish, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Honors and Awards

2023 - USGS STAR Award, for outstanding educational outreach efforts and facilitation of land access for geologic mapping
2022 - CSD Facility Visiting Graduate Student Travel Grant, for carrying out ICD (initial core description) work at the CSD (Continental Scientific Drilling) facility at UMN, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2019 - Philip R. Cosminsky Award, for outstanding service to the Geology department and the University
2018 - Spade Field Camp Scholarship, for the JMU Geology Field Course in Ireland
2017 - Fred Schaefermeyer Scholarship, for excelling in the Mineralogy course & showing enthusiasm for mineral collecting
2017 - Inducted into Sigma Gamma Epsilon, national earth science honor society
2015 - Second Century Scholarship, 75% of in-state tuition cost for all four years of undergraduate study, for showing outstanding promise as an incoming STEM major with a GPA of over 3.5

Abstracts and Presentations

Leithold, E., Wegmann, K., and Colip, G. (2024) An 8,000-year Holocene earthquake record from the northern Cascadia forearc: evidence for multiple sources at Lake Crescent, Washington. Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, April 29 - May 3, 2024.
Colip, G., Swezey, C., Mahan, S., Toomey, M., and Rodysill, J. (2023) Quaternary permafrost-fluvial and lacustrine sediments deposited during glacial intervals in the Water Sinks depression, a prominent karst sinkhole in Silurian-Devonian limestone, Highland County, Virginia. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 15-18, 2023.
Colip, G., Leithold, E., Wegmann, K., Brothers, D., and Burr, R. (2023) Seismic reflection imagery aids late Quaternary earthquake reconstructions at Lake Crescent, Washington, USA. Geological Society of America Joint Northeast-Southeast Section Meeting in Reston, Virginia, March 17-19, 2023.
Swezey, C., Brent, E., Colip, G., and Mahan, S. (2021). Luminescence dating of sand in Butler Cave (Burnsville Cove, Bath and Highland Counties, Virginia) reveals a sedimentary record from the last glaciation. Geological Society of America Northeastern Section Meeting (Online), March 14-15, 2021.
Colip, G., Swezey, C., Rodysill, J., Toomey, M., and Hayslett, M. (2020). Holocene sediments at Browns Pond, a vernal pool located within a karst sinkhole in the Silurian Tonoloway Limestone in Bath County, Virginia. Geological Society of America Northeast-Southeast Join Section Meeting in Reston, Virginia, March 20-22, 2020.

Science and Products

Science
Multimedia

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Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Task 4 Image

July 28, 2020

Task 4-Synthesis of Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basin Stratigraphy

The objective of Task 4 is to develop an improved understanding of the lithostratigraphic framework of the Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basins, with specific emphasis on how the lithologic characteristics of strata that accumulate in a sedimentary basin have been controlled by variations in tectonics, sea level, and climate. The resulting improved understanding of stratigraphy will aid...

Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

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July 28, 2020

Task 4-Synthesis of Michigan, Illinois, and Appalachian Basin Stratigraphy

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Brandon using tool to collect from sediment exposure

Brandon Graham collecting a sample from a sediment exposure at Army Base Fort Drum, New York

September 12, 2023

Brandon Graham collecting a sample from a sediment exposure at Army Base Fort Drum, New York

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Brandon Graham collecting a sample from a sediment exposure at Army Base Fort Drum, New York

Brandon Graham collecting a sample from a sediment exposure at Army Base Fort Drum, New York. These samples were collected as part of an OSL (optically-stimulated luminescence) dating campaign in collaboration with Shannon Mahan of the USGS Luminescence Lab in Denver, CO.

Fall 2023 Photo Contest Winner: Grant Colip, USGS at Work category

Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

September 12, 2023