News Release

Tshering Lama Sherpa wins microscopy grant for innovative geoscience research

Grant and Award Announcement

Geological Society of America

Tshering Lama Sherpa

image: Tshering Lama Sherpa, recipient of the 2020 GSA/Zeiss Research Grant. view more 

Credit: Tshering Lama Sherpa

Boulder, CO, USA: The Geological Society of America, in partnership with the Zeiss Group, is pleased to announce that Tshering Lama Sherpa is the winner of the first GSA/Zeiss Research Grant award for 2020. Sherpa, who is a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona, advised by Dr. Peter DeCelles, won for a research proposal titled: "Elucidating the tectonic history of the western Nepalese Himalaya using in-situ monazite petrochronology." This is a relatively novel method combining geochronology and geochemistry using mass spectrometry.

Sherpa's current research area covers a transect that extends through the entire breadth of the Dadeldhura klippe in western Nepal. Sherpa will use high resolution petrochronology analyses involving light and electron microscopy and microanalytics. It will then integrate that data with LA-ICP-MS, EPMA and nanoSIMS systems to detect thrusting events and associated metamorphism.

According to Sherpa, "My project involving optical and ion beam microscopy opens up a new avenue for future work that could use micro- and nano-scale analyses of minerals to potentially approach macro-scale problems of Himalayan and global tectono-climatic interactions."

The GSA/Zeiss Research Grant provides up to US$10,000 to be used for innovative microscopy in geoscience projects. Zeiss will also provide access to technology and expertise with the instrumentation.

This opportunity was open to GSA-member master's or Ph.D. students, post-doctoral researchers, or early career researchers (most recent degree completed within the last five years), at an institution in North or Central America.

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The ZEISS Group is a leading international technology company in the fields of optics and optoelectronics, promoting scientific and technological progress and aspiring to foster future generations of scientists.

The Geological Society of America is a scientific society with members from academia, government, and industry in more than 100 countries. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of humankind. GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth science education.


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