Our Team |
Established in 2014 |
Our Goal |
Our group was establish in 2014 and including our PI, Dr. David Shimabukuro, a graduate student, and a small group of undergraduate students. Since then our group has varied significantly, sometimes with as many as three graduate students and up to twenty undergraduate students. Check out our "Opportunities" page for information about joining our team.
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In addition to data collection and interpretation skills, we strive to provide our student employees with a range of professional development opportunities, including resume and cover letter review, networking opportunities, and independent research opportunities.
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Leadership
Dr. David Shimabukuro (he/him/his)Principal InvestigatorDr. Shimabukuro has two distinct research interests: tectonics and water resources.
As a tectonicist, he is a field-based researcher who uses mapping of field relations, geochemistry and geochronology to understand the earth. Recently, his tectonics group has been focusing on understanding the history and evolution of ocean crust, from its formation at mid-ocean ridges, to subduction, and to its emplacement as ophiolites in orogenic belts. His water resources group studies the interaction between oil and gas wastewater injection and groundwater resources. They use data from archived oil and gas wells to understand the distribution of saline groundwater, the stratigraphy of the subsurface, and potential well integrity issues. |
Theron Sowers, MS (they/them/theirs)Project ManagerAfter starting as a student assistant in 2015, Theron Sowers has been the Project Manager for the Water Resources Group since February 2019. They have research interests that include tectonics, oil well integrity and historical data, and geoscience education. Theron is responsible for the day-to-day management of data collection, as well as workflow training and employee onboarding and development.
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Graduate Students
Graduate students with the Water Resources Group serve as researchers, data collectors, quality controllers, mentors, and overall awesome team members.
Alexander Ryan (he/him/his)
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As an undergraduate, Alex couldn't decide which area of STEM he wanted to focus on, so he chose geology, which encompasses critical thinking, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and a love for the outdoors. Alex love that geologists have the freedom to pursue many different avenues and feel at home in a variety of environments and workplaces.
Alex started as Student Reseach Assistant with the Water Resources Group in Summer 2021 as an undergraduate, after transferring from Modesto Junior College. By far, his favorite part of working with the WRG is the emphasis on professional development and team-building. He feels more confident about his abilities as a geologist and an employee because of the experience that he has gained. Alex is finishing his first year as a Geology Master's student at Sacramento State. This summer, he is serving as a mentor to the community college interns and working on his master's thesis, which will use stable-isotope geochemistry to reconstruct climate conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. When he is not working in the lab or mentoring interns, you can find Alex in the kitchen, at a rock climbing gym, outside with his camera, or trying new hobbies. |
Erica Sanborn (she/they)
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Erica fell in love with geology after taking a geology course in high school. After exploring other avenues when she started college, she found her way back to geology and has been passionate and driven ever since. She is fascinated by the fact that the Earth is in constant motion; it makes it seem like it's a living, breathing thing! She is especially interested in how the dimension of time plays into our understanding of the Earth - the rocks certainly have a story to tell.
Erica started with the Water Resources Group in January 2022 as a senior undergraduate, after transferring from Sierra College. Her favorite part of working with the WRG is that she has the opportunity to gow alongside a community of undergraduates, graduates, and professionals while collecting and discussing data that has never been analyzed in this context before. Erica is finishing her first year as a Geology Master's student at Sacramento State. This summer, she is mentoring community college interns and working on her thesis studying the high-pressure, high-temperature metamorphism in an ophiolite in the northern Sierra Nevada. Her research encompasses a wide range of geologic techniques, including geochronology, geochemistry, and field work. When Erica isn't in the lab or working on her thesis, she can be found exploring the mountains and forests of the western United States. Her love of travel allows her to try local food and craft beer and spend a lot of time outdoors. When she's not travelling, Erica also enjoys hockey and attending concerts. |
Ethan Dreger (he/him/his)
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Ethan started as an undeclared Freshman at Sacramento State. After taking many general education courses in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics, he eventually took an introductory geology course that he found extremely interesting. As he continued to take geology courses, he found that the more he learned, the more he fell in love with the subject. Finally, he learned about arc magmatism and the hypotheses for the creation and emplacement of the granitoids in the Sierra Nevada and declared Geology as his major.
Ethan started with the Water Resources Group in Summer 2021 as an undergraduate. His favorite part about working with the WRG is being in a completely accepting and non-judgmental environment. It does not matter who you are, what level within the project you are, or how much you feel you should already know; you can ask a question about anything at any time and expect a respectful, thoughtful, and informative answer from your coworkers or supervisors. This summer, Ethan served as a TA for Geology 188 (our senior field course) and then returned to mentor our community college interns and work on his master's thesis examining basalt flows in the White Mountains. When he's not in the field or mentoring interns, Ethan loves exploring the diverse geology of California, from the mountains to the coast. He also enjoys kayaking, paddle boarding, and watching football. |
Brittany Botell
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Brittany chose geology as her major because she wanted to learn about how the natural world was formed. Geology allows her to combine her love of physics with her love of the outdoors.
Brittany started as with the Water Resources Group in Summer 2023 as a graduate student after completing her undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley. So far, she finds the work that the WRG does very interesting and is enjoying how much it inspires her to think and ask questions (that she can then find the answers to through research!) This summer, Brittany is mentoring the community college interns (especially on the important technology that we use to analyze our data) and working on her master's thesis creating a 3D image of magma chambers under the Cascade volcanoes in California using ambient noise seismic tomography. When she's not working or mentoring interns, she loves to hike, play video games, and bake sweets. |
Undergraduate Students
From the very beginning of the Water Resources Group, undergraduate student assistants have been at the heart of our group. Meet the amazing undergraduates who make up the engine of our research team.
Alyssa Kielty (she/hers/her)
Junior
BS Geology
Finn Schmelzer (he/him/his)
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Finn chose to major in geology because he loves figuring out why our planet looks the way it does, from individual mountains to valleys to complex hydrologic systems. Decoding the history of the Earth is his favorite part of geology, especially unraveling the tectonic history of California.
Finn was hired as a Student Research Assistant in January 2022. The most satisfying part of working with the Water Resources Group is seeing all of the data and hard work come together to create and share new knowledge. Seeing how deep oil wells are drilled and where the water table is has changed his perspective on the world a lot. When Finn isn't working, he can be found hiking and rock hounding. He considers himself a professional beach bum when he's back home in Southern California. If he's not looking for schists and gneisses in the mountains, he's probably on the beach! |
Jasmine (Jazz) Scrivner (she/hers/her)
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Jazz chose to major in geology because it allows her to study a broad range of topics, from large-scale processes like tectonics to identifying minerals based on subtle features that tell us about the atomic structure. She is fascinated with learning as much as possible about how the natural world has formed because she feels that it deepens her appreciation for the Earth. She also feels that studying geology keeps her humble, especially when she realizes how much we still don't know (and likely never will)! This means that we are piecing together an infinite puzzle (and she loves puzzles)!
Jazz was hired as a student research assistant in January 2022. She loves that the Water Resources Group is a small team, making it easy to reach out for help from peers and leadership. She feels this fosters a focus on team-building and a genuine desire to see each other succeed. She is proud to be a part of such a supportive team. This summer, Jazz is working on analyzing pre-1977 production and injection volumes for fields in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties. These data will help us to better understand the early history of oil and gas production in those fields. When Jazz isn't working for the WRG, you can normally find her playing and recording music in several local bands with her friends. She also enjoys painting, playing video games with her brothers, and knitting scarves and hats for her loved ones. |
Leah Bowen (they/them)
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Leah is a queer community college student at Sacramento City College who is planning on transferring to Sacramento State to major in Hydrogeology. Their interest in the geosciences, specifically hydrogeology, began as a child when they explored the Sierra Nevada mountains during one or the worst droughts in California history.
This summer, Leah is analyzing data from abandoned wells in the Coalinga Oil Field. The data that they collect can be used to analyze the risks of oil production to surround communities and will hopefully help develop stronger environmental policies and practices. |