I have always been interested in the small details without which there would be no “big picture.” My focus has been on microstructural analysis of rocks, particularly on small-scale deformation structures. I believe that understanding the small-scale structures is the key to understanding rock deformation as a whole. In this area, I have been working on developing new uses and techniques for SEM-based cathodoluminescence systems, particularly in applications to be used in microfracture analysis. Besides structural studies, since 1995 I have been involved in developing Web-based distribution systems for geoscience information. In my spare time, I continue to take an interest in the pre-Mesozoic geology of Central Texas.

B.S Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, December 1985

M.S. Geology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, February 1993

Ph.D. Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, August 1999

Research Scientist Associate I, Center for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1999–2000

Research Scientist Associate I, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, 1998–1999

Reed, R. M., and Laubach, S. E., 2000, Crack-seal texture in quartz-lined, opening-mode fractures formed in quartz-rich sandstones: an example of interrelated structure and diagenesis (abs.): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 7, p. A229.

Reed, R. M., and Laubach, S. E., 1999, Fracturing and quartz cementation in sandstone compaction bands: preliminary results from cathodoluminescence studies (abs.): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 31, no. 6, p. A87.

Reed, R. M., and Laubach, S. E., 1998, Density and distribution of microfractures in sandstones: importance to diagenesis (abs.): American Association of Petroleum Geologists Abstracts, CD-ROM, 542.PDF.

Reed, R. M., Roback, R. C. and Helper, M. A.,1998, Nature and age of ductile deformation associated with the "anorogenic" Town Mountain Granite, Llano Uplift, central Texas: Basement Tectonics 12, Central North America and other regions (abs.), in Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Basement Tectonics, p. 291.

Reed, R. M. and Laubach, S. E., 1996, The role of microfractures in the development of quartz overgrowth cements in sandstones: new evidence from cathodoluminescence studies (abs.): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 28, no. 7, p. A280.

Outstanding Student Research Award, Geological Society of America, 1994

Graduate Student Petrography Award, Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1992

National Merit Scholarship, The University of Texas at Austin, 1981

Robert M. Reed, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Bureau of Economic Geology
The University of Texas at Austin
University Station, Box X
Austin, Texas 78713-8924
E-mail:
Telephones: 512-471-0356 (office), 512-475-8786 (SEM lab)