Christopher Harper (he/him)

Tagline:Earth Science PhD, University of Oregon, NSF EAR-Postdoctoral Fellow (2025-2027 )

Eugene, Oregon, USA

personal photo of Christopher Harper (he/him)

About Me

I am a recent PhD graduate from the University of Oregon, Department of Earth Science, working with Leif Karlstrom as an NSF EAR-postdoctoral fellow. My research focuses on emergent phenomena in dense granular flows and extracting reliable statistics from unreliable volcanic records. As an NSF-EAR Postdoctoral Fellow, my current work centers on the latter, where I aim to quantify the informational limits of eruption chronologies and develop methods for comparing records across diverse temporal resolutions and levels of preservation.

Beyond research, I enjoy cooking, reading fiction, and drinking coffee with my partner and two cats. 

Publications

  • Geometric Origin of Macroscopic Alignment in Granular Flows

    Journal ArticlePublisher:Physical Review ResearchDate:2026
    Authors:
    Christopher HarperEric CP BreardGeorge W BergantzPJ Zrelak
    Description:

    Simple microscopic geometric controls on macroscopic granular behavior

    • theta_warp_bw
  • Role of compressional dynamics in setting the scale-dependent rheology of granular flows: An explanation for the emergence of thin layer stability

    Journal ArticlePublisher:Physical Review EDate:2025
    Authors:
    Christopher HarperJosef DufekEric Breard
    Description:

    Locating the origins of emergent phenomena in granular flows through particle deformation

    • new_modified_quartier
  • A Novel Area-Based Methodology to Deriving an Intrinsic Length Scale of Clustering for Variety of Volcanic Fields

    Journal ArticlePublisher:Bulletin of VolcanologyDate:2024
    Authors:
    Rebecca BussardChris HarperKathy CashmanLeif Karlstrom
    Description:

    Voronoi tessellation-based method for characterizing volcanic fields.

Education

  • PhD

    from: 2018, until: 2025

    Field of study:Earth ScienceSchool:University of OregonLocation:Eugene, Oregon

  • Bachelor of Science

    from: 2010, until: 2015

    Field of study:Applied MathematicsSchool:Georgia TechLocation:Atlanta, Georgia

  • Bachelor of Science

    from: 2010, until: 2015

    Field of study:Applied Language and Intercultural Studies (Chinese)School:Georgia TechLocation:Atlanta, Georgia

Research Interests

  • Granular Physics
  • Volcanic Systems
  • Emergent Phenomenon
  • Probability, Stochastics, and Statistics

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

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