Alexis Ault, Ph.D.

Field: Earth Science
Areas of Focus: Geology, Tectonics

Expertise

• Thermochronology
• Faults
• Tectonics

Bio

Dr. Alexis Ault is an associate professor in the Geosciences Department at USU. She earned her bachelor's degree in Geology and Political Science from Wellesley College, master's from University of New Mexico, doctorate from University of Colorado Boulder, and was awarded a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, taken at the University of Arizona. Ault joined the USU faculty in Fall 2014. She is the recipient of a NSF CAREER award, the inaugural Charles and Nancy Naesar Early Career Award from the International Standing Committee on Thermochronology, and the 2018 College of Science Researcher of the Year.

Her research pushes the boundaries of low-temperature (≤ 200 °C) thermochronometry to resolve the timing of cryptic thermal signatures of Earth processes. She integrates these methods with geologic, textural, and geochemical data to decode the thermal fingerprint and mineralogical record of earthquakes in exhumed fault systems, groundwater movement in faults and fractures, and the long-term erosion history of ancient rocks to understand how plate tectonics operates in the cores of continents through time. She maintains a dynamic, externally funded, and internationally recognized research program comprising postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers, supported by extramural grants from the National Science Foundation and Southern California Earthquake Center.