Matt is a glaciologist who uses satellite remote sensing techniques in combination with field-based and airborne geophysical methods to understand physical processes of Earth’s glaciers and ice sheets. He runs the Mines Glaciology Laboratory, where the team collects and synthesizes ground-, air-, and space-based datasets in an effort to span the spatial (centimeters to 100s of km) and temporal (minutes to centuries) on which these processes occur. He is particularly interested in processes at the ice-bed interface, which lies hidden beneath 10s to 1000s of meters of ice at the intersection between glaciology, hydrology, geology, microbiology, and oceanography. He strives to work with a diverse set of researchers to create a unique perspective on the role of subglacial processes within the larger global Earth system. As a polar scientist, Matt is also committed to maintaining an open discussion of the changing cryosphere, having collaborated with institutions ranging from local elementary schools to the U.S. State Department in an effort to facilitate our conversation about the local, regional, and global impacts of changes at the Earth’s poles. Matt is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Geophysics at Colorado School of Mines and is affiliated faculty with the Hydrologic Science and Engineering Program and the Humanitarian Engineering Program.
PhD in Earth Sciences, 2015
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
M.S. in Earth Sciences, 2010
Dartmouth College
A.B. in Earth Sciences, 2008
Dartmouth College
subglacial lakes, drainage processes, groundwater
ice shelves, grounding zones, ice fronts, polynyas
Operation IceBridge, ICESat-2, CryoSat-2, NISAR
Here are our most recently funded projects. Click here for the full list.
Two awards funded by NASA TOPS and ICESat-2 Project Science Office (10/1/2022 to 9/30/2024)
Funded by NSF CAREER Program (8/1/2022 to 7/31/2027)
Funded by NASA Decadal Survey Incubation Program (6/15/2022 to 6/14/2025)