Ryan Currier, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Geology
School of Field Investigations and Experimental Sciences Dr. Perry College of Mathematics, Computing, and Sciences

678-839-4053
rcurrier@westga.yXIt8Jfutltl5jgEGNmLip7ApUIV1s2VZ5WA36bY8P5vXWedu

Callaway Science Building - Room 101-103

Ryan Currier, Ph.D.
Biography

As an igneous petrologist, I am interested in the processes involved in magma formation, storage, and transport through the crust. I am specifically interested in igneous textures (i.e. the size, shape, and orientation of crystals) and extracting the stories they have to tell. Many of my research projects have concerned rift (and back-arc rift) settings, and the resulting magmatic plumbing systems which have developed under the associated conditions. Recently, my focus has been on magmatic dikes (i.e. fissures) and on building new textural toolkits for analyzing rock textures. I have been fortunate enough to receive National Science Foundation funding to interpret the magmatic history of the feeder dikes of the Columbia River Flood Basalts--Earth's most recent flood basalt province--and to immerse students in every step of the project. Because flood basalts are correlated with mass extinctions, the aim of better understanding these systems may have direct impact on climate modeling.

Education / Degrees
  • B.Sc., Geological Sciences, Michigan State University, 2006
  • M.A., Magma Dynamics, Johns Hopkins University, 2008
  • Ph.D., Magma Dynamics, Johns Hopkins University, 2011
Courses Taught
Course Sections and Syllabi

Fall 2025 Sections

Spring 2025 Sections

Fall 2024 Sections

Spring 2024 Sections

Fall 2023 Sections

Spring 2023 Sections

Fall 2022 Sections

Spring 2022 Sections

Fall 2021 Sections

Summer 2021 Sections

Spring 2021 Sections

Fall 2020 Sections

Publication List

Currier, R.M., and Flood, T.P., 2019. The Orestes Melt Zone, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Spatially distributed melting regimes in a contact melt zone, with implications for the formation of rapakivi and albite granites. Journal of Petrology, 60, 11, 2 [View Publication External Resource]

Currier, R.M., Ashauer, Z.M., and Norfleet, M.A., 2019. Textural analyses of classical rapakivi granites: Texture formation through coarsening, size-selective replacement, and stirring. Precambrian Research, 321, 1-12. [View Publication External Resource]

Currier, R.M., Forsythe, P., Grossmeier, C., Laliberte, M., and Yagle, B., 2017. Experiments on the evolution of laccolith morphology in plan-view. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 336, 155-167. [View Publication External Resource]

Currier, R.M., and Marsh, B.D., 2015. Mapping real time growth of experimental laccoliths: The effect of solidification on the mechanics of magmatic intrusion. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 302, 211-224. [View Publication External Resource]

Hidalgo, P.J., Vogel, T.A., Rooney, T.O., Currier, R.M., and Layer, P.W., 2011. Origin of silicic volcanism in the Panamanian arc: evidence for a two-stage fractionation process at El Valle volcano. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 162, 1115-1138 [View Publication External Resource]