RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Dr. Keller joined the faculty at UTEP in 1976 after a year of post-doctoral study at the University of Utah and three years as an Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky. Since arriving at UTEP, his research interests have expanded to include a broad range of topics. He has taken advantage of El Paso's strategic position in the Rio Grande rift to study not only this feature, but also other significant rifts around the world. As a leader of the Kenya Rift International Seismic Project, he and several UTEP students participated in a major seismic study of the East African rift. The results of this study are shedding new light on the deep structure of continental rifts. Recently, Dr. Keller has been working on anomalous features in the lower crust and upper mantle and their petrologic implications. He has grants for studies in the northern Rio Grande rift, the Rocky Mountain region, Africa, and Poland.

Dr. Keller has a long-standing interest in using geophysical data to elucidate the tectonic development of the North American craton. He was Principal Investigator for a Program for Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere experiment which successfully imaged the Paleozoic continental margin in southwestern Arkansas. He and his students have used these results to analyze the Paleozoic margin in adjacent areas. These efforts have major implications for oil and gas exploration and have attracted considerable industry interest. Continued collaboration with former graduate students has been an enjoyable aspect of this project.

Working with Drs. Diane Doser, Steven Harder, and Kate Miller, Dr. Keller has recently lead the UTEP geophysics group into collaboration on a number of large seismic projects in the western U.S. In these projects, the group has worked with the U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories, Stanford University, the University of British Columbia, California Institute of Technology, Duke University, Oregon State University, and Purdue University to name a few. These studies have investigated the Colorado Plateau, the Sierra Nevada, the Pacific Northwest, the Colorado Plateau, the southern Basin and Range, the Valles caldera, and the deep structure of the lithosphere across Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.

FORMER STUDENTS (1996-RECENT):

• Smith, Diana E., July 2002,(M.S.), Integrated geophysical study of the Precambrian basement of the Texas Panhandle region (w/ K. C. Miller)
• Villalobos, Josuha, December 2002,(M.S.), An integrated analysis of the Jornada del Muerto basin in south-central New Mexico utilizing remote sensing and geophysical methods (w/ N. Pingitore)
• Oueity, J. , December 2002,(M.S.), An integrated geophysical study of the Marfa basin, Tans-Pecos Texas (w/ D. I . Doser
• Xie, Hongjie, July 2002,(PhD), Application of integrated remote sensing and GIS technologies to geological, agricultural, water, and environmental issues in far west Texas (w/ R. P. Langford)
• Gillespie, C. L., August 2002,(PhD), Integrated geophysical, geological, and remote sensing study of selected basins in the Rio Grande rift (w/ D. I. Doser)
• Hicks, Nigel O., August 2001,(M.S.), Lithospheric structure of the Basin and Range province Ð southwestern Colorado plateau: Southeastern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona
• Snelson, C. M., December 2001,(PhD), Investigating crustal structure in western Washington and in the Rocky Mountains: Implications for seismic hazards and crustal growth (w/ K. C. Miller)
• Cline, Veronica, May 2000,(M.S.), An integrated geophysical analysis of the Great Divide Basin and adjacent uplifts, Southwestern Wyoming
• Quezada, O. A., December 2000,(M.S.), A seismic reflection, gravity, and remote sensing study of the southeastern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico
• Seeley, John, July 1999,(PhD), Studies of the Proterozoic tectonic evolution of the southwestern United States (w/ R. P. Langford)
• Jimenez, Alberto J., December 1999, An integrated analysis of basins in the Rio Grande Rift in northern Chihuahua, Mexico
• Snelson, Catherine, May 1998,(M.S.), An integrated lithospheric study of the Rocky Mountain region along the Deep Probe Seismic Profile (w/ K. C. Miller)
• Dial, Paul, December 1998,(PhD), An integrated geophysical study of North African and Mediterranean lithospheric structure (w/ D. I. Doser)
• Palsole, Sunay, May 1997,(M.S.), A geophysical study of the Salt and Valentine basins, West Texas (w/ D.I. Doser)
• Simiyu, Silas, May 1996,(PhD), Integrated geophysical study of the crustal structure of the Southern Kenya rift

• Tiffni Bond
• Matt Averill
• Hector Casillas

• Nicolas Mariita
• Leandro Trevino (co-chair w/ D. Doser)
• Allison Bruce (co-chair w/ N. Pingitore)
• Kevin Crain (co-chair w/ M. Baker)
• Pedro Muela (w/ R. Schmidt)

• PI (Vladik Kreinovich, and Ann Gates)-ITR Collaborative Research: GEON A research Project to Create Cyberinfrastructure for the Geosciences
  
• Co-PI (w/ Klemperer et al.)-Collaborative Research: US ÐEAGLE (Ethiopia-Afar Geophysical Lithospheric Experiment)
  
• Prin. Invest.-Eastside Desalination Project
  
• Prin. Invest.-Geophysical Studies of the Deep Structure of the Continents: International Collaborations
  
• Co-PI (w/D. Doser)-Seismological and lithospheric studies of the Libya region
  
• Prin. Invest.-ITR/IM+AP (GEO) Collaborative Project-Creation of a Geospatial Data System for the Transition Zone Between the Colorado Plateau and Basin & Range Provinces (Geoinformatics in Action)
  
• Co-PI (w/ Miller, Doser, Harder)-Upgrade to Geophysical Computing at the University of Texas at El Paso
  
• Co-PI (w/ Miller)-PASSCAL Seismic Instrument Facility
  
• Co-PI (w/ Karlstrom et al.)-Collaborative Research: Lithospheric Structure and Evolution of the Rocky Mountains - beginning Phase 2 Geodynamic Processes
  
• Co-PI (w/ Miller)-CELEBRATION 2000: A Seismic Investigation of Lithospheric Structure in the TESZ/Carpathian Mountains Region (includes supplement for ALP2002 and SLICE 2003)
  
• Prin. Invest.-A Cooperative Geophysical Study of Lithospheric Structure in Central Europe Supplement for high school teacher participant
  
• Co-PI (w/ Starks et al.)-Pan American Center for Earth and Environmental Studies (NASA)
  

• Keller, G. R., Snelson, C., Sheehan, A., and Dueker, K., 1998, Geophysical studies of crustal structure in the Rocky Mountain region: Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 33, p. 217-228.
• DEEP PROBE Working Group (Henstock, T. J., A. Levander, C. M. Snelson, G. R. Keller, K. C. Miller, S. H. Harder, A. R. Gorman, R. M. Clowes, M. J. A. Burianyk, and E. D. Humphreys), 1998, Probing the Archean and Proterozoic lithosphere of western North America: GSA Today, v. 8, p. 1-5, 16-17.
• Simiyu, S. M., and G. R. Keller, 1998, Upper crustal structure in the vicinity of Lake Magadi in the Kenya rift valley region: African Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 27, 359-371.
• Durrani, B. A., D. I. Doser, G. R. Keller, and T. M. Hearn, 1999, Velocity structure of the upper crust under the San Francisco volcanic field, Arizona: Bulletin Seismological Society of America, v. 89, 239-249.
• Keller, G. R., and Baldridge, W. S., 1999, The Rio Grande rift: A geological and geophysical review: Rocky Mountain Geology, v. 34, 131-148.
• Rodriguez, J. A., N. E. Pingitore, G. R. Keller, and A. Perez, 1999, An integrated gravity and remote sensing assessment of basin structure and hydrologic resources in the Chihuahua City region, Mexico: Engineering and Environmental Geophysics, v. 5., p. 73-85.
• Doser, D, and G. R. Keller, 1999, Seismicity of the East African rift and its relation to rift development (invited paper): Acta Vulcanologica, v. 11, p. 43-51.
• Khan, M. A., J. Mechie, C. Birt, G. Byrne, S. Gaciri, B. Jacob, G. R. Keller, P. K. H. Maguire, O. Novak, I. O. Nyambok, J. P. Patel, C. Prodehl, D. Riaroh, S. Simiyu, and H. Thybo, 1999, The lithospheric structure of the Kenya rift as revealed by wide-angle seismic measurements: Geological Society of London, Special Publication 164, p. 257-269.
• Guterch, A., M. Grad, H. Thybo, G. R. Keller, and the POLONAISE Working Group,1999, POLONAISE '97 - International seismic experiment between Precambrian and Variscan Europe in Poland: Tectonophysics, v. 314, p. 101-121.
• Keller, G. R., and R. D. Hatcher, Jr., 1999, Comparison of the lithospheric structure of the Appalachian - Ouachita orogen and Paleozoic orogenic belts in Europe: Tectonophysics, v. 314, p. 43-68.
• Guterch, A., M. Grad, and G. R. Keller, 2001, Seismologists Celebrate the New Millennium with an Experiment in Central Europe: EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 82, p.529, 534-535.
• Simiyu, S., and G. R. Keller, 2001, An integrated geophysical analysis of the upper crust of the southern Kenya rift: Geophysical Journal International, v. 147, p. 543-561.
• CD-ROM Working Group (UTEP team G. R. Keller, K. C. Miller, T. Eshete, and C. Snelson), 2002, Structure and evolution of the lithosphere beneath the Rocky Mountains: Initial results from the CD-ROM experiment: GSA Today, v. 12, no. 3, p. 4-10.
• LeMone, D. V., H. Xie, G. R. Keller, and R. Dodge, 2001. Remote Sensing Analysis of the Fort Hancock Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site, Hudspeth County, Texas: Waste Management 2001, Session 21C, paper 21, Low-Level Waste, Intermediate Level Waste, Mixed Waste and Hazardous Waste Operating Experience, 17 p., published on CD-ROM.
• Grad, M., G. R. Keller, H. Thybo, A. Guterch and POLONAISE Working Group, 2002, Lower lithospheric structure beneath the Trans European Suture Zone from POLONAISE Õ97 seismic profiles: Tectonophysics, v. 360, p. 153-168.
• Sroda, P., W. Czuba, M. Grad, A. Guterch, E. Gaczynski and POLONAISE Working Group (G. R. Keller, U. S. Team Leader), 2002, Three-dimensional seismic modelling of crustal structure in the TESZ region based on POLONAISE'97 data: Tectonophysics, v. 360, p. 169-185.
• Gorman, A.R., R.M. Clowes, R. M. Ellis, T. J. Henstock. G.D. Spence, G. R. Keller, A. R. Levander, C. M. Snelson, M. J. A. Burianyk, E. R. Kanasewich, I. Asudeh, Z. Hajnal and K. C. Miller, 2002, Deep Probe: imaging the roots of western North America: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 39, p. 375-398.
• Keller, G. R., T. G. Hildenbrand, R. Kucks, D. Roman, and A. M. Hittleman, 2002, Upgraded gravity anomaly base of the United States: The Leading Edge, v. 21, p. 366-367, 387.
• Fuis, G. S., R. W. Clayton, P. M. Davis, T. Ryberg, W. J. Lutter, D. A. Okaya, E. Hauksson, C. Prodehl, J. M. Murphy, M. L. Benthien, S. A. Baher, M. D. Kohler, K. Thygesen, G. Simila, G. R. Keller, and K. B. Richards-Dinger, 2003, Causative faults of the 1994 Northridge and 1971 San Fernando earthquakes, southern California: Relocated aftershocks and seismic images from LARSE II: GEOLOGY, v. 31, 171Ð174.
• Xie, Hongjie, Nigel Hicks, G. R. Keller, H. Huang, V. Kreinovich, 2003, An IDL/ENVI implementation of the FFT Based Algorithm for Automatic Image Registration: Computers and the Geosciences, accepted pending minor revisions.