Dr. Brent Miller

Biography

Brent Miller is a Professor and Associate Department Head at Texas A&M University in the College of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on developing high-resolution temporal constraints on the timing and tempo of geological events recorded in the isotopic record of Earth’s evolution. His primary research interest is in Tectonics, particularly studying the Appalachian orogen, which has spurred geological inquiry for over two centuries and led to revolutionary ideas such as geosynclines, plate tectonics, and the Wilson Cycle. Miller aims to apply insights gained from studying young active orogens like the Alps and Himalayas to ancient, deeply exhumed orogens like the Appalachians to refine general models of orogenic processes. He has expanded his research to ancient deep crust in the context of Cretaceous shallow seaways and teaches undergraduate summer field courses, guiding students through research projects focused on the Archean and Proterozoic Tectonics in the Wyoming Craton and the geological characteristics of the Highland Mountains in Montana. His work on high-precision U-Pb dating aims to put numerical age constraints on sedimentary paleobiological records and volcanic ash beds, which can inform biostratigraphic correlations and large-scale oceanic anoxic events.

Research Interests