2018
California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, CA
Ph.D. Geological Sciences
- Dissertation
- Regional structural geology of Earth and Mars
- Advisors
2014
M.S. Geology
2011
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, NC
B.S. Geological Sciences with Highest Honors · B.A. Economics
Positions
2018–present
University of Wisconsin – Madison — Madison, WI
2021
Research Scientist II
2019
Research Scientist I
2018
Postdoctoral research associate
2026–
Matter Intelligence, Inc. — San Francisco, CA
Scientific advisor, geospatial data (consulting)
2012–2018
California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, CA
Graduate research fellow
2011–2012
U.S. Geological Survey — Storrs, CT
NAGT/USGS Cooperative Field Training intern · Contract software developer
2010
Applied Physics Laboratory — Laurel, MD
Lunar science intern
2009
Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology — Honolulu, HI
NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics intern
2008–2011
UNC Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory — Chapel Hill, NC
Isotope geochemistry technician
Funding
in review
- Department of Energy GENESIS Phase 2: Open Resource of Geoscience Exploration using AI (OROGEN-AI): A Digital Platform and Foundation Model for Critical Mineral Discovery ($2,247,148 to UW–Madison; $13.5M total), UW–Madison principal investigator
2026–2027
- AAPG Foundation Bringing Community Groups and Checkin Curation to the Rockd Platform ($100,000), co-principal investigator with SE Peters
2025
- AAPG Foundation Enhancing the Rockd Mobile App with AAPG COSUNA and Related Column Data ($50,000), co-principal investigator with SE Peters
2023–2027
- NSF RISE-2324579 Collaborative Research: GEO OSE Track 2: Building a multiscale community-led ecosystem for crustal geology through the integration of Macrostrat and StraboSpot ($1,134,668), lead principal investigator
- NSF OAC-2311091 Collaborative Research: Elements: Linking geochemical proxy records to crustal stratigraphic context via community-interactive cyberinfrastructure ($599,148), lead principal investigator
2023–2024
- DARPA CriticalMAAS An interactive, literature-integrated digital crust in support of critical minerals assessment ($689,670), lead principal investigator
Publications
in prep , Sequence stratigraphy of the Ediacaran Zebra River Group, southern Naukluft Mountains, Namibia, (anticipated submission late 2026), for South African Journal of Geology.
in prep , A multistage sedimentary history at Aeolis Dorsa, Mars, (anticipated submission late 2026), for Geology.
in review , Tectonostratigraphy of the Zebra Series and the tectonic evolution of the Naukluft Mountains, Namibia, (2026), GSA Bulletin.
in review , Extending pyGMT into Deep Time with GPlately, (2026), Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.
, The Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project Phase 2 data release: An open data resource for the study of Earth's environmental history, (2026), Chemical Geology, 712, doi: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2025.123148.
, Building a multi-scale, collaborative, and time-integrated digital crust: the next stage of the Macrostrat data system, (2024), Geoscience Data Journal, doi: 10.1002/gdj3.189.
, Geomorphic and environmental controls on microbial mat fabrics on Little Ambergris Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands, (2023), Sedimentology, doi: 10.1111/sed.13100.
, Macrostratigraphy: Insights into cyclic and secular evolution of the Earth-life system, (2022), Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, doi: 10.1146/annurev-earth-032320-081427.
, Igneous rock area and age in continental crust, (2021), Geology, doi: 10.1130/G49037.1.
, Ten simple rules to cultivate transdisciplinary collaboration in data science, (2021), PLOS Computational Biology, doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008879.
, Regional structural orientation of the Mt. Sharp group revealed by in-situ dip measurements and stratigraphic correlations on the Vera Rubin ridge, (2020), Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, doi: 10.1029/2019JE006298.
, DTSGUI: A Python program to process and visualize fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing data, (2019), Groundwater, doi: 10.1111/gwat.12974.
, A PCA-based framework for determining remotely-sensed geological surface orientations and their statistical quality, (2019), Earth and Space Science, doi: 10.1029/2018EA000416.
, The deposition and alteration history of the northeast Syrtis layered sulfates, (2019), Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, doi: 10.1029/2018JE005706.
, Late-Cretaceous construction of the mantle lithosphere beneath the central California coast revealed by Crystal Knob xenoliths, (2018), Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 19, doi: 10.1029/2017GC007260.
, The stratigraphy and evolution of lower Mt. Sharp from spectral, morphological, and thermophysical orbital datasets, (2016), Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, doi: 10.1002/2016je005095.
Teaching experience
2020–present
University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Ge/GLE 431 (Fall 2021) – Sedimentology and stratigraphy lecture and lab primary instructor
- Ge/GLE 431 (Fall 2020) – Sedimentology and stratigraphy lecture and lab primary instructor
- Ge 875 – Patagonia (Winter 2025) assistant instructor
- Ge 875 – Death Valley (Spring 2022) assistant instructor
- Ge 875 – Navigating graduate school and intro to UW Geoscience guest lecturer
- Ge 100 – Introductory geology – how the Earth works guest lecturer
- Carpentries workshop series instructor
- Software development for geoscientists project-based mentoring
2013–2017
California Institute of Technology
- Ge120a – Introduction to field geologic mapping teaching assistant
- Ge114b – Mineralogy and petrography teaching assistant
- Ge121c – Advanced field geologic mapping and stratigraphy teaching assistant
Professional workshops and short courses
- October 2026 – Compiling digital stratigraphic models for sedimentary geochemistry, Earth history, and paleobiology co-organizer
- June 2025 – Integrating Macrostrat and StraboSpot for field stratigraphy research lead organizer
- October 2022 – EarthCube Geochronology Sparrow workshop lead organizer
- October 2021 – EarthCube Geochronology Sparrow workshop lead organizer
- October 2020 – EarthCube Geochronology Sparrow workshop lead organizer
- May 2019 – EarthCube Geochronology Sparrow workshop co-organizer
- June 2018 – Agouron Geobiology Field Course, Naukluft Mountains, Namibia teaching assistant
Advising · mentoring
2025–present
- Elizabeth Sunday, Ph.D. student, seismology – Integrating geological frameworks with seismic tomography, co-supervisor with E Golos, Ph.D. committee member
2024–present
- Amy Fromandi, software developer – Macrostrat v2 development
2023–present
- David Sklar, B.S. student, computer science – Knowledge-graph representations of geological data
2023–2025
- Devesh Sarda, M.S. student, computer science – AI-based map and literature integration for DARPA CriticalMAAS, research mentor
2022–2023
- Casey Idzikowski, software developer – Macrostrat and Sparrow development. Co-author on Macrostrat v2 paper; now works in private sector
2021–2025
- Kate Akin, B.S. student, geoscience – Macrostrat data integration
2021–2023
- Kate Tobin, B.S. student, geoscience – Stratigraphy of Aeolis Dorsa, Mars. Hilldale Undergraduate Research Award; paper in preparation; now works in mining industry
2021–2022
- Casey Idzikowski, B.S. student – Macrostrat and Sparrow software development
- Shan Ye, Ph.D. committee member
Geoscience software
2020–present
- Macrostrat, a global platform for geologic maps and stratigraphy (project lead)
2019–present
2018–present
- Mapboard GIS, a topology-aware geologic mapping system for iPad and Apple Pencil (creator)
2017–2020
- FGDC Geologic Patterns for the Web (maintainer)
2017–2019
- Orienteer, software for managing uncertain bedding orientations (creator)
2015–2017
- d3-ternary, a ternary diagram library for Javascript (creator)
2011–2012
- DTS GUI, a Python application for fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing data (creator)
Organizations · service
2026–2027
- Chair, GSA Geoinformatics Division
2026
- Session chair, GSA Annual Meeting
- Reviewer, Seismological Research Letters
- Reviewer, GSA Bulletin
2025
- Reviewer, Journal of Open Source Software
2025–2026
- Vice chair, GSA Geoinformatics Division
2024–2025
- Reviewer, NSF CSSI program
2024–2026
- Member, Deep-Time Digital Earth Paleogeography Executive Committee
2020–present
- Member, Department of Geoscience Computation Committee
2024
- Reviewer, USGS National Geologic Synthesis Project
2022–2024
- Reviewer, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
2021
- Geoinformatics deputy chair, Geochronology Research Coordination Network steering committee
- Reviewer, Applied Computing and Geosciences
- Reviewer, Basin Research
2020–2021
- Code of conduct subcommittee, Department of Geoscience Diversity and Inclusion Committee
- Organizer, Geo-computing coffee hour
2020
- Reviewer, Acta Geochimica
- Session chair, GSA Annual Meeting
2019
- Session chair, AGU Fall Meeting
- SedStrabo field assessment, StraboSpot team
2017
- American Geoscience Institute special awards judge, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
2012–2018
- President and volunteer mechanic, Caltech Bike Lab
2009
- Volunteer mechanic, Cycle Manoa
Professional organizations
- Member, Geological Society of America
- Member, American Geophysical Union
Honors · awards
2018–2019
- Earth Science Information Partners Community Fellowship
2014–2017
- NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship
2011
- Anadarko Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award (UNC Geology)
2010
- Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
- Wheeler Research Award (UNC Geology)
- Exxon-Mobil Field Camp Scholarship
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Carolina Research Scholar
Professional workshops and short courses
2025
- Analytical paleobiology and applications of the Geobiodiversity Database workshop — Nanjing, China
- SCEC Geologic Framework Model workshop — Davis, CA
- Open-science ecosystem paleo-cyberinfrastructure alignment workshop — Boulder, CO
- Sandpiper toolchain launch workshop — St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, Minneapolis, MN
2024
- Deep-Time Digital Earth Paleogeography Workshop — Hangzhou, China
- DOE Future Innovation Needs for Responsible Mining of Critical Minerals Workshop — Boston, MA
2023
- FAIROS persistent identifiers workshop — Boulder, CO
- Building on the EarthCube Community Workshop — ISI, Marina del Rey, CA
- Carpentries Instructor Training (UW–Madison Data Science Institute) — Madison, WI
2022
- Lemonade Lab Workshop (NSF TRIPODS) — Gatlinburg, TN
2021
- EarthRates all-hands workshop — virtual
2019
- IsoAstro workshop — Rock Springs, WY
- Lemon Lab Workshop (NSF TRIPODS) — Tucson, AZ
2016
- Geobiology Field Course (Agouron Institute) — Little Ambergris Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands
Technical expertise
Field geoscience
- Field campaigns in southern Namibia, Turks and Caicos Islands, and western U.S.
- Recent fieldwork: Green River, WY (2021); Owyhee Mountains, ID (2022); Glacier National Park, MT (2023); Naukluft Mountains, Namibia (2026)
- Structural mapping and detailed stratigraphy
- Application of remote sensing to field geological study
GIS and spatial analysis
- Development of open-source tooling for geologic data management
- Planetary and terrestrial remote sensing, photogrammetry, and hyperspectral imaging
Software development
- Geospatial software development and data analysis in Python and PostgreSQL
- Statistical and high-performance numerical computing
- User interface and mobile application development
- Distributed computing and cloud-based systems architecture (Kubernetes, Docker)
Presentations
Key
- conference talk
- conference poster
- invited lecture
Linking stratigraphic and geochemical frameworks: Macrostrat–SGP integration, NSF Cyberinfrastructure annual meeting (Rockville, MD), September 15, 2026.
New stratigraphic results from the Naukluft Nappe Complex and implications for multi-system Ediacaran correlation in Namibia, supported by emerging digital approaches, GSA Thompson Field Forum (Keetmanshoop, Namibia), May 26, 2026.
Macrostrat and the "digital crust", Stanford University (Stanford, CA), May 5, 2026.
Building a multiscale community-led ecosystem for crustal geology through the integration of Macrostrat and StraboSpot, NSF GEO Open Science Ecosystem annual meeting (Washington, DC), April 30, 2026.
Macrostrat's progress towards a multi-domain, collaborative geologic synthesis engine, Geologic Mapping Forum (online), March 12, 2026.
From research data workflows to digital Earth models: continuing efforts to integrate the geoinformatics data ecosystem for the future, GSA Annual Meeting (San Antonio, TX), October 22, 2025 ( invited).
A scalable workflow for measuring the uncertainty of rock layer orientations from remotely-sensed digital surface models, GSA Annual Meeting (San Antonio, TX), October 21, 2025.
Macrostrat's progress towards a multiscale, collaborative stratigraphic synthesis engine, Analytical paleobiology and applications of the Geobiodiversity Database workshop (Nanjing, China), September 22, 2025 ( invited).
Integrating 3D geologic framework information into Macrostrat's descriptive Earth model, SCEC Statewide GFM/CTM Workshop (Davis, CA), August 14, 2025 ( invited).
Macrostrat: building a digital stratigraphic engine for Earth systems research, SEPM Sedimentary Geology and the Energy Transition Conference (Salt Lake City, UT), June 3, 2025.
Digital models of the crust to understand the Earth's past and present, George Mason University, February 27, 2025.
Establishing a robust ecosystem around analytical data by building lab-level informatics capacity, AGU Fall Meeting (Washington, DC), December 12, 2024 ( invited).
Macrostrat's work toward descriptive digital models of the crust, Geologic Mapping Forum (virtual), November 7, 2024.
Mining the published literature to index the characteristics of geologic units, GSA Annual Meeting (Anaheim, CA), September 23, 2024.
Digital models of the crust to understand the Earth's past and present, Sustainability Seminar, Montclair State University, September 9, 2024.
Integrating geologic maps for paleogeographic research, Deep-Time Digital Earth Paleogeography Workshop (Hangzhou, China), August 17, 2024 ( invited).
Cutting edge now: AI/Machine learning methods, DOE Future Innovation Needs for Responsible Mining of Critical Minerals (Boston, MA), June 5, 2024 ( invited).
Building an integrated digital crust from field to continent scale, RockTalks, USGS Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center (Denver, CO), February 15, 2024.
Can effective software tools contribute to inter-domain coordination?, ESIP Winter Meeting, January 25, 2024.
Adapting Macrostrat's map compilation for critical minerals assessment, Geologic Mapping Forum, November 30, 2023.
The Macrostrat platform for the Earth's geologic framework, GSA Annual Meeting (Pittsburgh, PA), October 15, 2023.
Keeping humans centered in digital geoscience, GSA Annual Meeting (Pittsburgh, PA), October 15, 2023 ( invited).
Building a useful (and persistently identified) digital crust, FAIROS Persistent Identifiers Workshop (Boulder, CO), September 14, 2023 ( invited).
An interactive, literature-integrated digital crust in support of critical minerals assessment, DARPA CriticalMAAS kickoff (National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV), August 14, 2023.
Crossing the collaborative barrier for Macrostrat and digital crustal research, Building on the EarthCube Community Workshop (Information Sciences Institute, Marina del Rey, CA), June 28, 2023.
Corelle: plate rotations in the web browser, Global Paleogeography Research Network, June 21, 2023.
The Sparrow data system for labs, IAVCEI Tephra Workshop, January 28, 2023.
Macrostrat overview: a community-accessible stratigraphic data resource supporting global to local geoscience, Zhejiang University, November 16, 2022.
Keynote: Designing software to build geoscience literacy, Deep-Time Digital Earth – Open Science Forum (UNESCO, Paris, France), November 9, 2022 ( invited).
Macrostrat overview: a community-accessible stratigraphic data resource supporting global to local geoscience, Deep-Time Digital Earth Workshop (Paris, France), November 7, 2022.
, Macrostrat's geologic map: a harmonized, community-accessible data resource supporting global to local geoscience, Geologic Mapping Forum, October 27, 2022.
, Macrostrat's geologic map: a harmonized, community-accessible data resource supporting global to local geoscience, GSA Annual Meeting (Denver, CO), October 9, 2022 ( invited).
Building and harnessing a general-purpose digital framework for the Earth’s crust, Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists – Gussow Conference (Calgary, AB), May 2022 ( invited).
Connecting geochemical data to context and community with the Sparrow laboratory data system, Korea Basic Science Institute, April 14, 2022.
Towards a collaborative mapping experience for geology, Geologic and Planetary Mapping Winter School, February 11, 2022.
, Macrostrat: Extending a platform for geological data exploration, integration, and analysis, Geologic Mapping Forum, February 10, 2022.
DP Quinn, The EarthCube Sparrow geochemical data system, SciDataCon, October 21, 2021.
DP Quinn, Future modes of collaboration towards a multiscale Macrostrat, GSA Annual Meeting (Portland, OR), October 10, 2021.
, Building a laboratory data system for (U-Th)/He chronology by implementing the Sparrow software platform, International Conference on Thermochronology (Santa Fe, NM), September 16, 2021.
, An extensible interface for geochemical data sharing atop the Sparrow laboratory management system, EarthCube Annual Meeting, July 2021.
A structural and stratigraphic framework for the Zebra Nappe, southern Naukluft Mountains, Namibia, Naukluft Symposium, McGill University, May 2021.
Quicker interpretive map production with Mapboard GIS, Open Planetary Virtual Lunch, May 11, 2021.
Building digital-native approaches to capture, integrate, and display geological research data, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, March 18, 2021.
The geologic history of Syrtis Major, Mars and the stratigraphic record of Earth: building a new geoinformatics approach, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Geoscience department seminar, March 5, 2021.
Transforming geoscience research through digital–native approaches to data capture, integration, and display, Geologic Mapping Forum, February 11, 2021.
DP Quinn, The Mapboard, reimagined digitally — building a user-interface tailored for field geological mapping, GSA Annual Meeting, October 2020.
, The Sparrow laboratory information management system — a tool for connecting geochemical data to context and community, GSA Annual Meeting, October 2020.
DP Quinn, Building regional context with interactive visualizations — a scalable approach applied to NE Syrtis, Mars, Open Planetary Virtual Lunch, August 11, 2020.
, The Sparrow software interface for linking analytical data and metadata in laboratory archives, EarthCube Annual Meeting, June 2020.
, Modeling and visualizing errors to geological surface orientations collected by UAV photogrammetry, AGU Fall Meeting (San Francisco, CA), December 2019.
, Sparrow: a data management system and cyberinfrastructure component targeted at geochronology laboratories, GSA Annual Meeting (Phoenix, AZ), September 2019.
, Sparrow: a cyberinfrastructure component supporting data management and sharing in geochronology laboratories, Goldschmidt (Barcelona), August 2019.
DP Quinn, Sparrow: an in-house, interoperable data system for individual geochronology labs, ESIP Summer Meeting (Tacoma, WA), July 2019.
, Sparrow: a laboratory management software tool and distributed data infrastructure component for geochronology, EarthCube Annual Meeting, June 2019.
Digital tools to understand the Earth: applying informatics approaches to geoscience workflows, Rice University (Houston, TX), June 2019.
DP Quinn, Sparrow: A geochronology-focused lab information management system, EarthCube geochronology workshop (Madison, WI), May 2019.
, Building bridges between geologic maps, stratigraphy, and sample-based measurements to facilitate integrative geoscience, Geologic Mapping Forum (Minneapolis, MN), April 2019.
, Field production and digital assembly of multiscale geologic maps and stratigraphic columns for regional structural studies, Geologic Mapping Forum (Minneapolis, MN), April 2019.
Faraway, so close! Adapting structural tools used on Earth to study key environments in Mars history., Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX), April 2019.
The error structure of remotely-sensed geological orientation measurements and their application to structural studies of Mars, University of Chicago (Chicago, IL), February 2019.
, A statistical framework for determining remotely-sensed geological surface orientations and their error distributions, GSA Annual Meeting (Indianapolis, IN), November 2018.
, A sequence-stratigraphic framework for the Zebra Nappe, southern Naukluft Mountains, Namibia, GSA Annual Meeting (Indianapolis, IN), November 2018.
, Sedimentary units accessible in the NE Syrtis extended mission area and recent findings on the history of surface water in the broader region, 4th Mars 2020 Landing Site Workshop (Glendale, CA), October 2018.
Interfaces to data in structural geology, Pre-IRESS workshop, Rice University (Houston, TX), February 21, 2018.
, The layered sulfates at NE Syrtis Major, Mars 2020 Landing Site Working Group (Glendale, CA), November 2017.
Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Zebra Nappe, Naukluft Nappe Complex, Namibia, Geoclub, California Institute of Technology, June 1, 2017.
Developing new statistical tools to understand the sulfate stratigraphy at northeast Syrtis Major, Mars, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology seminar, April 2017.
, The deposition and alteration history of the northeast Syrtis layered sulfates, 48th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (Houston, TX), March 2017.
, A method for error analysis and orientation statistics of best-fitting planes from remote-sensing data, 48th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (Houston, TX), March 2017.
, Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Zebra Nappe, Naukluft Nappe Complex, Namibia, GSA Annual Meeting (Denver, CO), October 2016.
, Preliminary structural map of the Zebra Nappe, Naukluft Nappe Complex, Namibia, GSA Annual Meeting (Denver, CO), October 2016.
Stratigraphy and Structure of the Zebra Nappe of the Naukluft Nappe Complex, Geological Society of Namibia (Windhoek, Namibia), September 2016.
The deposition and alteration history of the northeast Syrtis layered sulfates, Mars Forum, JPL (Pasadena, CA), May 2016.
, Spinel peridotite xenoliths from Crystal Knob and the structure of the mantle lithosphere beneath coastal California, GSA Cordilleran Section (Ontario, CA), April 2016.
, The deposition and alteration history of the northeast Syrtis layered sulfates, CRISM Team Meeting (Baltimore, MD), November 2015.
, The deposition and alteration history of the northeast Syrtis layered sulfates, GSA Annual Meeting (Baltimore, MD), November 2015.
, The deposition and alteration history of the northeast Syrtis layered sulfates, HiRISE Team Meeting (Mývatn, Iceland), September 2015.
, Structural constraints on the origin of the sulfate-bearing unit at northeast Syrtis Major, 8th Mars Conference (Pasadena, CA), July 2014.
, Provenance of the sulfate-bearing Unit at Northeast Syrtis Major: Insights from Structural Geology, 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (Houston, TX), March 2014.
, Probing the structure of the sub-Salinia mantle lithosphere using spinel lherzolite xenoliths from Crystal Knob, Santa Lucia Range, California, AGU Fall Meeting (San Francisco, CA), December 2013.
, Exploration potential for highly illuminated points at the lunar poles using Kaguya, LOLA, and LROC data sets, 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (Houston, TX), March 2011.
, Lighting conditions for the Moon's poles: integrating Clementine, Kaguya, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data sets, AGU Fall Meeting (San Francisco, CA), December 2010.
, Using Microsoft Excel for Hapke modeling: a technique to simplify calculations of optical constants and reflectance spectra, 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (Houston, TX), March 2010.