Stephanie Konfal

Name: Stephanie Konfal Status: Ph.D. student Undergraduate University: Denison University Research Interests: neotectonics, crustal deformation, geodesy, volcanology, GIS, remote sensing Click Here to read my blog from the 2005-2006 Antarctic field season

Why did you choose Ohio State?
Quite simply, I choose Ohio State because Terry is at Ohio State. However, there were many additional factors that attracted me to OSU, some of which include the strong Geodesy Department, the Byrd Polar Research Center, and of course the football team!

Why did you choose to work with Terry?
After my undergraduate studies, I was lucky enough to land an internship with the USGS out in Washington State. It was my first exposure to using GPS to study crustal deformation, and I realized that it was something I wanted to focus on in graduate school. After looking at different programs, I found Terry's research to be the most compelling. I wanted to use GPS to study crustal deformation, I wanted to work in an area with unique scientific questions to be answered, I wanted to be excited about the research, and I wanted to gain skills with a broad range of applications. I found all of these things throughTerry.

What is your most memorable or favorite moment from the field?
There are a lot of Antarctic "firsts" sticking out in my mind...my first helicopter flight, the first time I saw a penguin, first time I saw Erebus Volcano steaming, first time I heard the ice shelf crack, first GPS pin I installed...so many! But, I would have to say my favorite moment was sledding down a hill on my back at Mt. Crean. I had bruises on my back for a week from smashing into ice bumps halfway into each run, but it was an absolute blast and I will never forget it. Want to see a video? Click here.

What do you hope to do after graduate school?
I'd love to work for the USGS again, but more and more I could see myself teaching and doing research at a university.

Favorite quote?
Eh. I'm never good at remembering quotes. I've got a favorite food though....avocado.

What advice would you give to incoming students?
A good friend of mine, DZ, once gave me this advice, and it has served me well. I was trying to decide about graduate school, and he asked me if I had found the one thing that I couldn't imagine myself NOT studying in life. He told me that if I had, then everything else will fall into place. So far, he's been right.