Introducing the Two Newest Members of Our Blog Team!

As the VIPS commission, we are committed to staying at the forefront of our field. In an effort to continue to amplify new voices, new research, and new perspectives, we have recruited two new members to our blog team. Arthur and Lexi are looking forward to helping spread the word on all things Volcanic and Igneous Plumbing Systems.

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Arthur is a PhD student at Penn State. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he first became interested in volcanoes as a child after seeing columnar jointed tuff deposits from the extinct High Island Supervolcano in Hong Kong. His interests in understanding the evolution of different components of volcanic systems led him to pursue degrees at UCLA (BSc Geophysics) and the University of Leeds (MSc Structural Geology with Geophysics). At UCLA, he conducted laboratory experiments and computer simulations to study the dynamics of merging mantle plumes. At Leeds, he conducted numerical simulations of volcanic ground deformation caused by sill stacks in trans-crustal magmatic systems. At Penn State, he currently studies crater deformation and flank instabilities of Kilauea (Hawai’i) and Nyiragongo (The Democratic Republic of Congo) using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) time-series and finite element modelling. Arthur sings in a choir at Penn State, and enjoys listening to music, 3D printing, and cooking.

Arthur was fortunate enough to catch Kilauea erupting in February 2025 during a conference in Hilo, Hawai’i. More on this in a future post!

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Lexi is a second-year PhD student at the University of New Mexico. She did her undergraduate education at Queens College (CUNY), receiving a BSc in Geology and a BA in Environmental Science. Having never seen a volcano growing up in New York, it is here that she started volcanological research while working on a project evaluating zoning patterns in plagioclases from the 2015 eruption on Momotombo with her first ever geology TA. During her MSc at the UNM, she examined sulfur sequestration reactions which take place between gas and solid components as magma ascends through the conduit. She currently studies ground deformation events captured by InSAR and geophysical models and attempts to correlate them with magma ascent pathways recorded by mineral zoning patterns and diffusion chronometry. In her free time, Lexi is an organizer with the United Graduate Workers of UNM, goes to trivia, and does handicrafts.        

Lexi had the opportunity to spend 3 weeks assisting with field work in Northern Chile at Lascar and Lastarria Volcanoes. Pictured are several fumaroles at Lastarria. 

Would you like to be featured on our blog?

We’re on the hunt for fellow VIPS enthusiasts to share their stories, whether you’re a student, an early career researcher (ECR) or more experienced researcher – we want to hear from you!

Do you have a new paper to tell the world about? Or have you been involved in some exciting fieldwork recently? Get in touch at info@vipscommission.org to tell us what’s going on in your field of VIPS.