Katharine Venable Cashman

University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon; University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom~Philip H. Knight Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences; axa Research Chair, Volcanology Research Group. Physical volcanologist investigating why volcanoes erupt the way they do. Specifically, links the physical and chemical evolution of volcanic systems using well-constrained samples from active volcanoes interpreted within the context of experiments on natural and analog systems. Work showed that the bubble and crystal textures preserved in quenched volcanic samples provide detailed information on the conditions of magma ascent, fragmentation, and flow across Earth's surface. Demonstrated the critical role of threshold behavior (e.g., permeability thresholds in vesiculating magma, rheological thresholds in crystallizing magmas) in triggering abrupt transitions in eruptive behavior.~