Members of this group work on all seven continents and under the ocean. Research interests span the evolution of orogenic belts and continents, circulation in the mantle, the formation of oceanic lithosphere, the development of rift systems, how landscapes form, the interaction of climate and tectonics, and even extra-terrestrial (Martian and lunar) projects, plus experiments utilizing man-made lava pours. Researchers are process-oriented and use field-based, analytical, and modeling approaches to understand how the Earth has evolved over time.  Publications in top journals such as Nature, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Geology and Journal of Geophysical Research exemplify this excellence in research.  This group is often favorably compared to tectonics groups in many larger and higher-ranked Earth Sciences departments, remarkable given the overall size of the group and the department.