The Pennsylvanian and Permian sedimentary units of the American Southwest hold valuable records of a significant major tectonic event that formed the Ancestral Rocky Mountains and associated basins, such as the Paradox and Pedregosa Basins. These mountains exposed Precambrian crystalline rocks, contributing debris into the basins, forming predominantly reddish sedimentary sequences, such as the Supai Group of Grand Canyon, and the Abo Formation and Yeso Group of New Mexico. Previous studies have indicated that components of these sedimentary sequences were derived from regions outside the Southwest, such as the Appalachian Mountains of that time.Central New Mexico contains well-exposed sequences of Pennsylvanian and Permian sedimentary units with extensively studied biostratigraphy. Tight palaeontologic age constraints from these sequences provide an opportunity to examine variations over time of the relative contribution of sediment derived from the nearby Ancestral Rocky Mountains versus sediment of more distal origins. This study utilizes the laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) approach to U-Pb dating of detrital zircons found within the Pennsylvanian and Permian sequences of central New Mexico, to evaluate changes in potential source regions and sediment transport over time, and to contribute insights to the existing tectonic and sedimentary record of the area during the Pennsylvanian and Permian periods. The findings reveal the Pennsylvanian units were dominated by locally derived sediment, characterized by zircon ages ranging from 1400 to 1800 Ma, whereas Permian units record a substantial influx of distally derived grains with zircon ages ranging from approximately ~270 Ma to 1300 Ma. This indicates that the Ancestral Rockies were the dominant sedimentary sources during the Pennsylvanian but became subdued enough in the Permian to allow the sedimentary basins to capture exotic grains derived from distant regions in North America. These findings contribute valuable insights to the tectonic and sedimentary history of central New Mexico during the Pennsylvanian and Permian periods, shedding light on the evolution of the Ancestral Rockies and the influences of distant sediment sources on the region's depositional patterns.

The goal of the first study was to characterize the Miocene arkosic conglomerate in the Goldfield Mountains to determine the paleocurrent direction and source of the cobbles. This conglomerate is tilted to the northeast and unconformably overlies Proterozoic basement. Imbrication measurements are scattered but suggest the direction of paleoflow was toward the northwest and northeast, which suggests the cobbles were sourced from the southeast and southwest. The abundance of Dripping Spring Quartzite and the presence of Barnes Conglomerate in the cobbles, suggests an Apache Group source. In addition, south-southeast of the map area, there are several rock units composed of the same material as cobbles within the arkosic conglomerate. The arkosic conglomerate was likely deposited during onset of mid-Cenozoic extension, where the resulting highlands could provide a nearby source for the cobbles. This nearby source is interpreted to be south-southeast of the study area. A second study examined the effectiveness of course reform conducted on an introductory undergraduate course sequence. Questions of this study included: (1) How does the curriculum cater to a student population with diverse goals? (2) How do reformed courses add educational value as perceived by the student? (3) How does the redesigned curriculum and the instructional strategies, as implemented, address the goals of the reform? The curriculum addressed the goals of the reform by (1) creating more opportunities for students to gain the skills relevant to their future goals, (2) having students utilize big data to make observations, interpretations, and predictions, (3) engaging students in scientific collaboration through group work and discussion, (4) giving students the opportunity to utilize computer programs that apply across various subjects and fields (i.e. Excel, MS Word, ArcGIS), and (5) requiring students to conduct original research to solve a problem and present their results orally and in written form. These redesign efforts were successful in meeting the objectives, and majority of the student participants reported one or more of the reformed experiences were valuable to their education and future goals. An understanding of teaching methods and educational values held by undergraduate students within the School of Earth and Space Exploration can be adapted and applied across subjects.