I study how rocks break to help improve our understanding of earthquakes. In my research, I create computer simulations of rocks breaking, benchmarked against lab experiments in which small pieces of rock are deformed and measured during the fracture growth process. My recent projects focus on the linking of smaller cracks to form bigger fractures. I have also worked on crustal-scale models of the San Andreas fault, a geologic map of the V18 quadrangle of Venus, and assorted work collecting and processing rock samples for paleomagnetic analysis.