Dr. Wenner teaches courses in

physical geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, igneous and metamorphic petrology, and leads field trips to Hawaii, Death Valley and the Sierra Nevada. Her research interests include the generation of continental crust (using geochemistry and geochronology), the evolution of the mantle beneath arcs and best teaching practices for increasing college students’ quantitative skills.

Her current research projects include the geochemical and volcanological study of basaltic cinder cones in the Cascades at Lassen Peak, California and an educational study of the use of online tutorials to build introductory geoscience students’ mathematical skills. In the past, her crustal research has taken her to ancient and modern volcanoes in California, Oregon, Missouri, Wisconsin, Washington and New England. Since 2001, approximately a dozen students have traveled with Jen to complete a variety of field and geochemical projects dealing with the generation and evolution of continental crust. Each of these students received grants to complete the research (through GSA, Sigma Xi, UW Oshkosh, etc.) and many of them have presented the results of their research at national and regional meetings.

Since 2006, the National Science Foundation has funded Jen’s education and the project is active in Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Illinois, Colorado, Wyoming, New York, California and Washington State. She holds a B.A. from Carleton College (1992) and a Ph.D. from Boston University (2001).