Geology

https://burkett.okstate.edu/

I am a marine micropaleontologist and paleoceanographer whose research focuses on benthic foraminifera, deep-sea ecosystems, and environmental change through time. My work integrates micropaleontology, geochemistry, ecology, and advanced imaging techniques such as MicroCT scanning to investigate ocean conditions, seafloor environments, and the fossil record of ancient marine systems.

I received my B.S. and M.S. in material science and engineering in China before I earned my Ph.D. in Geology at the University of Oklahoma. My Ph.D. research focused on rock friction and earthquake mechanisms. During my postdoc at the University of Texas at Austin, I studied chemically assisted fracture growth for carbon sequestration. Before returning to Oklahoma, I worked as a research scientist in the John Handin experimental rock deformation lab at Texas A&M University.

I use experimental techniques to study rock deformation, focusing primarily on the upper crust where destructive earthquakes and resource exploration occur. Besides rock squeezing using big machines, I incorporate microscopic approaches (SEM, AFM) to investigate micro-processes and fieldwork as analogs to my experimental simulations. My group focuses on experimental studies of rock friction and earthquake physics, subcritical and dynamic fracture mechanics, and laboratory geomechanics simulation of subsurface reservoirs for petroleum and energy transition applications. The group has three triaxial rock deformation apparatus and data acquisition platforms for standard rock mechanics testing and dynamic testing of fracture growth, rupture propagation, and acoustic emissions.

I also serve as a Hamm Institute Faculty Fellow from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027.

I received my B.S. in geology from Oklahoma State University. After graduation I worked in the oil and gas industry as a petroleum engineer and as a high school physics teacher. I decided to return to my alma mater for my Ph.D. in Geology. My Ph.D. research at Oklahoma State, under the advisement of Dr. Ashley Burkett, was primarily focused on geochemical and morphological variations in benthic foraminifera. In my research I have worked with geochemical proxies extracted from foraminiferal tests via laser ablation inductively-coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). This research has primarily targeted magnesium proxies for bottom water temperature as a means of paleoceanographic reconstruction. I have also worked extensively with micro computed tomography (Micro-CT) to visualize and analyze foraminiferal test morphologies. This work has been focused on assessing calcite quality through x-ray intensity and modeling bottom water oxygen changes through the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) using volumetric analysis.

As a member of the Boone Pickens School of Geology faculty, my focus is on designing, improving, and teaching the departments service level online course offerings with a focus on making online teaching engaging and interactive. I also have an interest in geoscience education research and developing new practices that leverage modern technology and tools.

Research Interests:

Paleoenvironmental analysis of siliciclastic and carbonate depositional environments in outcrop and subsurface; exploration and production of hydrocarbon reservoirs; structural influence on sediment deposition and hydrocarbon reservoir integrity. 

Petroleum industry experience (13.5 years):
(1) Texaco Inc. - Midland, Tx for 5 years, (2) Anadarko Production Co. - OK City for 6.5 years and (3) Mid-Continent Exploration Manager for Woods Petroleum - Ok City for 2 years. Experience includes exploration for Pennsylvanian clastics and Permian carbonate in the Midland Basin; exploitation of structural traps in southern Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle; exploration and exploitation for Pennsylvanian clastics in central Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle; and exploitation review of carbonate production in the Panhandle Field in Texas and Oklahoma.

Dedicated and supportive academic leader, geophysicist, and administrator with over 25 years of experience advancing research, education, and institutional growth across major research universities. Currently serving as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State University, overseeing research development across 23 departments and 6 interdisciplinary programs. Recognized for securing over $25M in competitive research funding, building strategic partnerships with federal agencies, industry, and foundations, and leading initiatives that increase faculty success, student engagement, and institutional visibility. Proven ability to align institutional research priorities with strategic plans, foster interdisciplinary collaborations, and advance initiatives with high societal impact.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

•    Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) - geological and geophysical site characterization, monitoring, utilization strategies, and risk assessment.
•    Subsurface energy systems - geothermal energy, hydrogen storage, and next-generation energy-related storage technologies.

•    Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in Geoscience

•    Data-driven geophysics

•    Gas hydrates - exploration, stability, and implications for both energy and climate.
•    Petroleum exploration and energy resources - conventional and unconventional oil and gas.
•    Geophysical exploration methods - marine geophysics, hydrogeophysics, and environmental geophysics.
•    Near-surface geophysics - applications to environmental, engineering, and sustainability challenges.
•    Applied seismology - imaging Earth’s crustal structure, composition, and physical properties.

ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP & ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

Associate Dean for Research, College of Arts and Sciences
Oklahoma State University | Oct. 2023 – Present

Oversee the CAS Research Office, including the Sponsored Programs team (9 officers and an Assistant Director) and research engagement initiatives across 23 departments and 6 interdisciplinary programs. Provide strategic leadership to advance research, scholarship, and creative activities, while aligning College priorities with OSU’s institutional mission. Share oversight of key research core facilities (Animal Resources, High Performance Computing, and Microscopy Lab), and serve as the primary liaison between CAS, the Vice President for Research, Graduate Coordinators, and the Graduate College. Advise faculty on research budgets, start-up packages, and strategic planning, while fostering undergraduate and transdisciplinary research initiatives.
Key Accomplishments

·         Strengthened and expanded the CAS Sponsored Programs Office, ensuring stability and professional growth.

·         Established the Program Director for Research Engagement to coordinate faculty and student initiatives.

·         Launched the CAS Research Faculty Fellows program to support strategic transdisciplinary research across Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, and Math & Sciences.

·         Created and administered the Transdisciplinary Research and Engagement for Novel Discovery (TREND) grant program, fostering collaboration, innovation, and the synthesis of diverse disciplinary approaches to address complex global challenges.

·         Increased CAS research external funding by 10% through strategic alignment and support of faculty.

·         Integrated CAS research priorities with both OSU and College strategic plans.

·         Introduced Pivot, a funding opportunity search platform, to expand faculty and student access to external research support.

Head, Boone Pickens School of Geology
Oklahoma State University | July 2018 – Oct. 2023

Led the Boone Pickens School of Geology (BPSoG), overseeing 25 faculty (17 tenure-/career-track, 7 endowed chairs, 5 adjuncts), 6 staff, 60+ undergraduate students and 50+ graduate students. Managed an operating budget of ~$2.5M, an endowment exceeding $18M, annual research expenditures of ~$3M, and a scholarship balance of ~$1.4M. Guided the School in developing a new strategic plan, expanding academic programs, diversifying funding streams, improving infrastructure, and increasing philanthropy and corporate engagement — while fostering a culture of shared governance, transparency, and innovation. Focused on faculty development and mentoring, cross-college partnerships, national reputation building, student success outcomes, operational excellence and governance.
KEY Accomplishments
•    Implemented transparent governance and data-driven decision-making processes, improving faculty engagement and operational efficiency.
•    Enhanced student success and professional readiness, with graduates securing competitive positions in academia, industry, and government.
•    Directed all aspects of the School’s $2.5M budget, including salaries, operating expenses, research funds, scholarships, endowments, and corporate giving.
•    Partnered with faculty and the Advisory Board to implement a revised strategic plan prioritizing program growth, student success, innovation in teaching, research expansion, and fiscal stewardship.
•    Tripled Bachelor of Science degree offerings, added new minors and concentrations, launched a Professional Science Master’s program and a graduate certificate, and enhanced the PhD program — resulting in national recognition of the graduate program.
•    Increased endowed scholarships by 35% since 2020, while significantly expanding the donor base through targeted philanthropy and corporate engagement.
•    Mentored early-career faculty through tenure and promotion processes, resulting in successful advancement and increased external funding success.
•    Strengthened interdisciplinary collaborations across CAS, Engineering, Agriculture, and external research partners to advance OSU’s leadership in energy transition and sustainability.
•    Raised the national profile of BPSoG by increasing faculty presence in international conferences, professional society leadership, and federal advisory roles.
•    Secured funding for signature initiatives, including a fully funded residential summer program for underrepresented high-school students and a 2,200 sq. ft. Student Synergy Room.
•    Modernized facilities, including completion of a $2.5M core research facility, construction of a computing lab and student synergy room, renovation of the conference room, creation of shipping and mailing facilities, and flooring upgrades.
•    Built partnerships with federal, state, and local leaders to advance Energy Transition research and interdisciplinary collaborations.
•    Strengthened alumni and external engagement by hosting recruiting booths, career panels, and receptions at national and regional conferences.
•    Responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by creating a Geology Task Force to ensure safety in 
•    Supported 7 student organizations in developing career workshops, short courses, and outreach events in collaboration with CAS and OSU.

Director, Earth Sciences & Resources Institute (ESRI)
University of South Carolina | 2013 – 2018

Directed the Earth Sciences & Resources Institute (ESRI), a major applied research unit with a $10M+ annual budget, supporting faculty, staff, and students engaged in interdisciplinary energy, environment, and natural resources research. Oversaw research development, financial management, strategic planning, and external engagement, while aligning the Institute’s mission with federal priorities, state needs, and university strategic goals.
KEY Accomplishments
•    Rebranded and refocused ESRI’s mission to align with national priorities in energy transition, carbon storage, and environmental sustainability, strengthening its reputation and competitiveness.
•    Directed a $10M+ operating budget, overseeing contracts, grants, and partnerships with federal agencies, state governments, industry sponsors, and foundations.
•    Expanded interdisciplinary research collaborations across USC departments and with external institutions, growing ESRI’s funding portfolio and research capacity.
•    Strengthened industry partnerships and built sustained relationships with major energy companies, enhancing applied research and workforce development opportunities.
•    Increased student engagement in research through funded assistantships, internships, and experiential learning programs, particularly for underrepresented groups.
•    Improved infrastructure and operational capacity, including IT, laboratory, and field resources, enabling more competitive research projects.
•    Enhanced ESRI’s national and international profile by organizing and contributing to conferences, workshops, and professional networks.
•    Mentored research staff and early-career faculty in proposal development, grant management, and project leadership, leading to increased funding success.
•    Advanced a culture of shared governance, fiscal accountability, and data-driven decision-making to ensure sustainability and growth.

Undergraduate Director, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences
University of South Carolina | 2006 – 2009

Provided academic leadership for undergraduate programs in Earth and Ocean Sciences, overseeing curriculum development, advising, and student success initiatives. Collaborated with faculty and staff to enhance teaching quality, streamline program requirements, and improve student recruitment and retention.
KEY Accomplishments
•    Revised and modernized the undergraduate curriculum, aligning courses with disciplinary standards and student career pathways.
•    Expanded student research and experiential learning opportunities, integrating field-based training and faculty-mentored projects.
•    Strengthened academic advising structures, improving student progression and degree completion rates.
•    Promoted student engagement through career workshops, outreach events, and professional development activities.
•    Built collaborative ties with other USC departments and external organizations to enrich undergraduate training and visibility.

University Service and Leadership
University of South Carolina | 2003 – 2018

•    Chair, Faculty Budget Committee – Served as liaison between university administration and faculty on budgetary matters; advocated for faculty perspectives in budget policy and ensured transparency in the budgeting process.
•    Chair, Carolina Core – Scientific Literacy – Led curriculum development to advance student competencies in communication, analytical reasoning, problem solving, scientific literacy, and ethical/global citizenship.
•    Co-Chair, Faculty Welfare Committee – Guided reviews of faculty welfare policies including compensation, benefits, and workplace environment, ensuring fair and transparent practices.
•    Co-Chair, Faculty Advisory Committee – Provided faculty and administration with strategic advice on institutional policies and operations.
•    Panel Chair, University Committee for Tenure and Promotion – Oversaw development and approval of departmental criteria, reviewed all tenure and promotion cases, and delivered final recommendations to the president.
•    Additional University Service:
o    Member, Udall Scholarship Committee 
o    Member, Fulbright Evaluation Committee 
o    Member, Women Faculty Organization Steering Committee 
o    Member, College of Arts and Sciences Computing Committee 
o    Mentor, Women’s Connections Mentoring Network 

I am a geoscientist. I received my formal training as a structural geologist and tectonicist (Stanford, B.S. with Distinction; M.I.T., Ph.D.) but have practiced most of my career as a geophysicist, specifically a reflection seismologist. Structural geologists study deformation (faults, folds, cracks, etc.) in rocks, and the processes that led to the deformation. Tectonicists study the large-scale processes that form and deform Earth's crust, including continental drift, mountain building, and the formation of ocean basins. Geophysicists apply principles of physics to remotely sense the interior of the Earth at different scales, since we cannot make direct observations. In the case of reflection seismology, we do to the Earth what physicians do to the human body when they image with Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans; we produce 2-D, 3-D, and more recently 4-D images of various portions of the Earth using acoustic, or sound, energy. Such techniques, invented here in Oklahoma by Oklahomans more than a hundred years ago, have been the backbone of subsurface resource exploration ever since, and have revolutionized our understanding of Earth structure and evolution in recent decades.

Dr. Daniel A. Laó-Dávila is a Professor and Associate Head of the Boone Pickens School of Geology. He is a structural geologist interested in the formation of mountains, valleys, and overall deformation of the crust by Plate Tectonics. He studies fractures to help us understand earthquakes, how fluids move through rocks, and the geological history of the Earth.

Research Interests:

Dr. Laó-Dávila's research focuses on understanding the kinematics and strain along plate boundaries. Using structural geological techniques to analyze strain at all scales, he investigates the tectonic evolution of collisional plate boundaries and associated transpressional deformation zones.

The Caribbean-North America plate boundary has had a complex tectonic evolution since its formation in the Pacific Basin. It has evolved from an orthogonal subduction zone into a transpressional oblique subduction zone, with the accretion of terranes into the North American Plate and formation of pull-apart basins in left-stepping transform boundaries. I have conducted research in the Puerto Rico region to determine the different tectonic events from the Cretaceous to the present on the Northeastern margin of the Caribbean Plate.

Also, he is interested in the effects of pre-existing fabrics on the initial stages of continental rifting. The East African Rift is an exceptional place to study the processes that form continental rifts. He has teamed up with geophysical collaborators to investigate the role of pre-existing structures in the formation of new faults in the rift.

The study of strain and stress in a plate boundary zone is of great importance to the discipline of geology because of its implications for a better understanding of plate interactions, strain localization, crustal strength, and tectonic evolution. These variables have a fundamental impact on the fields of seismic hazards and economic geology. He is also interested in research in the North American Mid-Continent region because it contains unexpected seismicity, and ancient rifts, subduction complexes, and intracratonic shear zones.

I received my B.S. in geology and M.S. in geology/geophysics from the University of Oklahoma, where I studied paleomagnetic signatures of unconformity surfaces in Nevada and Missouri. I spent some time in the oil and gas industry before deciding to return to my home state to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky. My Ph.D. research largely related to collisional orogenic (mountain-building) processes--specifically the processes involved in the destruction of mountain ranges after uplift has ceased. I continue to use multiple approaches in my work, including geo- and thermochronology, petrography and petrology, paleopiezometry (stress conditions during ancient times), SEM- and electron microprobe-based geochemistry, GIS-based topographic analyses, and numerical modeling to determine how fast mountains can collapse/decay and what might be the primary drivers for the processes that cause their destruction.

I have multiple ongoing research projects in both collisional and extensional tectonic environments, including in the Appalachian-Caledonian orogen (Southern Appalachians and Scotland), the Wichita Mountains (southwestern Oklahoma), the Ouachita Mountains (southeastern Oklahoma), and the Saharan Metacraton (Sudan). Additionally, I have recent and current students that are working to characterize petroleum and critical mineral resources in the Anadarko and Arkoma basins in Oklahoma and in igneous- and sedimentary-hosted economic deposits in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas.

Research Interests:

Tectonics, Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, Petroleum and Economic Geology, Geo- and Thermochronology

My research program is on the Water-Energy-CO₂ Nexus. This program is to contribute toward a net-zero emissions energy transition. I conduct experimental and computational research on the petrophysical characterization of rocks, as well as on the elucidation of the hydrological, geochemical, and microbiological factors and interactions that control the multiphase bio-geochemical reactive transport of gas, aqueous, and hydrocarbon fluids in deep and shallow geological formations of complex heterogeneous porous media such as carbonates, at both the pore- and field-scale levels. The focus is on groundwater quality, petroleum produced water treatment and disposal, geological carbon and hydrogen storage, hydrogen production in depleted oil reservoirs, and mining of critical minerals from brine. The goal is to develop new environmental technologies and computational methodologies to minimize the environmental burden of and optimize the development of subsurface energy, mineral, and groundwater resources. My research incorporates the utilization of global optimization, machine learning, and environmental data analytical tools and techniques.

Earth to me is a spherical shape reactor undergoing chemical reactions coupled with mass and energy transfer processes driven by an unbalanced distribution of matter and energy, predictable and reproducible.

Hydrogeology, Groundwater Hydrology, Numerical Modeling