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Marquis Scholar Joanna Morabito ’08 (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) knows what it is like to be under pressure, especially while studying some of the most pressurized minerals on the planet.
She is working with Guy Hovis, John Markle Professor of Geology, to study the thermal expansion of minerals beneath Earth’s surface.
They are collaborating through Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, in which students conduct research with faculty while earning a stipend. The program has helped to make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their work through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
Morabito’s project, entitled “Thermal Expansion of Feldspathoid Minerals,” examines the expansion of two minerals – nepheline and kalsilite – found beneath Earth’s surface.
“This project shows that the extent to which thermal expansion occurs depends on a mineral’s chemical composition and structure,” says the geology major.
“When minerals such as quartz, garnet, or feldspar are buried below the earth’s surface, they are subject to heat and pressure,” Hovis adds. “Geologists attempt to understand what minerals are present far below the surface, and how the earth’s materials behave under such conditions. Our own particular work attempts to understand the degree to which minerals expand when heated and the degree to which this is dependent on the structures and chemical compositions of minerals.”
Morabito’s responsibilities include subjecting the minerals to X-rays when they are heated to elevated temperatures of about 1,100 degrees Celsius.
“From this we can determine how mineral volumes change as a function of temperature,” Hovis says. “We do this for a whole series of minerals that differ in chemical composition and atomic structure.”
According to Morabito, the project is unique because it simulates what actually occurs in the natural world.
“This project helps to understand the high temperature environment that exists below the earth’s surface,” she says. “By subjecting the minerals to high temperatures, we are recreating conditions seen below the surface.”
Hovis says Morabito has the commitment and discipline necessary for complex and detailed research.
“She has the temperament, good judgment, and care to have what it takes,” he says.
Morabito is a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, is a teaching assistant for the geology department, and plays violin in the Lafayette orchestra.
A past director of the National Science Foundation’s Petrology and Geochemistry Program, Hovis has been elected to life membership in Clare Hall at Cambridge University, England, and is a Life Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America. He has received numerous grants since 1976 from the National Science Foundation totaling nearly $1 million for support of solution calorimetric research.
Hovis has shared his research in many academic publications, including articles coauthored with students. He is the recipient of several major awards, including the Mary Louise Van Artsdalen Prize for outstanding scholarly achievement, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Award for superior teaching and scholarly contribution to his discipline, and Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Faculty Lecture Award in recognition of excellence in teaching and scholarship.
He has been a member of the faculty since 1974 and director of the Hydrofluoric Acid Solution Calorimetry Laboratory since 1976. He earned doctorate and master’s degrees in geology from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in geology from Franklin and Marshall College.
Chosen from among Lafayette’s most promising applicants, Marquis Scholars like Morabito receive a special academic scholarship and distinctive educational experiences and benefits. This includes a three-week, Lafayette-funded course abroad or in the United States during January’s interim session between semesters or the summer break. Marquis Scholars also participate in mentoring programs with Lafayette faculty and cultural activities in major cities and on campus.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty students were accepted to present their research at this year’s conference.