Over the summer of 2022, Monique Nevarez was chosen to join the International Research Experience for Students cohort to Czechia. As a Fine Arts undergraduate, she traveled along with geologists Michael Petronis PhD and several students from New Mexico Highlands University. They conducted research on volcanic formations in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany. She used her technical ability in the arts to help illustrate scientific diagrams of lava flows found in various quarries. In doing so she was able to help depict field sites from a different perspective to offer other insights that may have otherwise been overlooked. These illustrations were an alternative way to document visual observations. The IRES grant provided her the opportunity to apply her talent in a real-world situation outside of an art studio. The cultural diversity has additionally inspired new sculptures and drawings like the work presented below.

NMHU Geology