(1956- ) American Metamorphic Petrologist, Tectonics
Jane Selverstone wears two hats in terms of research. She has done theoretical thermodynamic research with frank s. spear, among others, as well as field metamorphic-tectonic research. She has done significant research on the rocks of the Tauern Window of the eastern Alps. This work involved applying much of the earlier theoretical research to real rocks. She also related deforma-tional processes to metamorphic processes in terms of bulk chemical, isotopic, trace element, and mineralogical changes. The control on these processes largely involves interaction with meta-morphic fluids that migrate along deep-seated faults during deformation. The early research concentrated on thrust fault systems, but later work applied these same techniques to normal faults both in the Alps and detachment surfaces in metamorphic core complexes of the Whipple Mountains, California. Fluid inclusions within these fault rocks places pressure-temperature constraints in addition to those from the metamor-phic mineral assemblages. This multifaceted, high-quality approach to field metamorphic problems yields intricacies to the processes that are not commonly revealed in the more cursory studies that are commonly performed on such rocks. Selverstone’s excellent understanding of the detailed thermodynamics, field metamorphism, and deformational processes also allow her to interrelate these observations in an effective manner. Her ability to form collaborations with the best researchers in each particular discipline also contributes to the quality of her research. Examples of her papers include, “Quantitative Pressure-Temperature Paths from Zoned Minerals: Theory and Tectonic Applications” and “Trace Element Zoning in Metamorphic Garnet.”
Jane Selverstone has also taken on a tectonic project to determine the Proterozoic assembly of the crust in the northern Colorado Front Ranges. This project is designed to unravel a complex series of plate collisions that took place about 1.4 billion to 1.7 billion years ago that helped to build the North American continent in the southwestern United States.
Jane Selverstone was born on July 6, 1956, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She attended Princeton University, New Jersey, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in geology in 1978 and completed a senior thesis, which she published with her adviser, L. Hollister. She earned a master of science degree in geology at the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1981 with C. R. Stern and J. Munoz as advisers. She moved to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for her doctoral degree, which she earned in 1985 under the advisement of Frank Spear. After a year as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder, her first faculty position was at Harvard University, Massachusetts. From 1990 to 1992, Selverstone was named as a John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Natural Sciences at Harvard. In 1992, she returned to the University of Colorado as a research associate professor. In 1995, she accepted a position at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where she remains as of 2002. She was named regents’ lecturer from 1998 to 2001. Jane Selverstone is married to David Gutzler, a professor of climatology, and they have two children.
Jane Selverstone doing fieldwork in the eastern Alps
Jane Selverstone has been very productive throughout these early stages of her career. She is an author of 49 articles in top international journals. Her articles are well received, well cited, and her coauthors are among the top professionals in the field. She has already been recognized for her work with numerous honors and awards. As a student she received the Buddington Award at Princeton University in 1978, the Waldrop Award at University of Colorado in 1981, a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship in 1980 to 1983, and a Shell Dissertation Fellowship in 1983 to 1985. As a professional she received a prestigious National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award from 1987 to 1992. She was named a Mineralogical Society of America Distinguished Lecturer in 1992 to 1993 and awarded an Editor’s Citation for Excellence in Refereeing in Tectonics in 1993.
Selverstone has also been of service to the profession. She served on the editorial board for Geology from 1989 to 1994 and Journal of Meta-morphic Geology from 1997 to the present, where she also served as coeditor in 1993 to 1997. She served as both vice chair (1998-1999) and chair (2000) for the Structural Geology and Tectonics Division of the Geological Society of America, where she has served on other committees. She also served on committees and panels for the Mineralogical Society of America and the National Science Foundation.
