Petrology

The Petrology Department has undergone dramatic but exciting changes since the appointment of Professor Gareth Davies as the head of department as of January 2004.  An entirely new Petrology Department has been erected and new and innovative research directions have been established.  The process started in May 2004 with the appointment of Dr. Pieter Vroon as a geochemist specialising in the geochemical cycles of Si and Fe. In addition he has a strong interest in subduction-related volcanism. Dr. Wim van Westrenen was hired as a high temperature mineralogist in January 2005. He uses high-pressure, high-temperature experiments to study planetary accretion and differentiation processes. Dr. Fraukje Brouwer joined the department in May 2005, funded by NWO through the Meervoud programme. Fraukje, a metamorphic petrologist specialising in (Ultra) High Pressure [(U)HP] metamorphic rocks, will ultimately take up the teaching responsibilities of Drs. Frank Beunk on his retirement in 2008. Until that time she will develop a research programme designed to constrain the processes and timescales responsible for the formation and exhumation of (U)HP rocks.
 
Feel free to contact the Head of the Petrology Department for more information about our group:
Prof. dr. G.R. Davies
Phone: +31 (0)20 59 87329,
E-mail: gareth.davies@falw.vu.nl



Summit activity of Etna. Source: http://www.educeth.ch/stromboli/photos/