I am hoping to answer questions such as: what was the paleogeography of northwestern South America and the Caribbean 50 million years ago?, and when did the interaction with the Central American arc begin?. The answers to these questions have profound implications for ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns, paleodrainage systems, reservoir rock distribution, the rise of the northern Andes, and biological dispersal patterns.

The tools me and my colleagues use are all anchored on basic geologic mapping. Tools such as zircon geochronology, paleomagnetism, low temperature thermochronology, geochemistry and integrated provenance analyses provide clues to interpret geologic map deformation patterns.