E-Mail: shawna.white@smu.ca
Originally from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, Dr. White completed her undergraduate degree at Memorial University and earned her MSc and PhD at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. She taught in Ontario and upstate New York before relocating to Halifax. After beginning her university science education in physics, she realized she wanted a job where she could spend more time outside. In the third year of her program, she fell in love with geology after taking a couple of Earth Science electives and spending a summer doing field work in Northern Quebec as a field assistant.
As a field geologist, Dr. White is currently interested in studying Northern Appalachians processes. Her PhD focused on understanding the evolution of the Appalachian Mountain belt in western Newfoundland through geological mapping, geochronology (dating rocks), and interpretation of geophysical datasets. During her postdoc work she worked in regions of Northern Ontario, mapping ancient (2.7-billion-year-old) volcanic rocks. Her and her team would work anywhere from more remote back country working from a car on the side of the road.
My research is rooted in ‘boots on the ground’ research —going into the field, looking at the rocks, collecting samples, and mapping the geology.”