Laurent Roberge

My Research

I recently started working on a PhD in Professor Nicole Gasparini’s surface processes lab. My research will focus on source-to-sink landscape evolution. I will be using and developing open-source landscape evolution models in Landlab to explore geomorphic and sedimentologic responses to tectonic forcings. My work will be based on data collected in the Pagliara watershed of northeastern Sicily, which provides a great natural experiment.

Background

I grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and spent my childhood exploring the mountains of British Columbia; from the steep, glacier-clad granite of the Coast Mountains to the sedimentary fold and thrust belt of the Canadian Rockies. My interest in geoscience stems from spending time in these amazing landscapes. When I see a mountain, river valley, or delta I find myself asking the same set of questions: How did this get here? Why does the landscape look this way? What is the story of this place? I studied physical geography at the University of British Columbia as an undergraduate and then spent several years working as a geoscientist in Vancouver. I’m now back to learning about landscape evolution! Aside from my interest in landscapes, I enjoy long trips into the wilderness (by foot or on skis), photography, soccer, and reading.