Meet the User: Joseph Allen

The National Center for Earth and Environmental Science (NanoEarth) continues the Meet the User Series by highlighting Joseph (Joe) Allen, Ph.D. 

Allen has an extensive academic background that spans across the United States. Focused in geology, he has a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State, a Master’s of Science from East Carolina University and a Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Kentucky. He completed a postdoc at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He entered higher education at Alice Lloyd College in eastern Kentucky, where he decided to focus on undergraduate education. These experiences led him to Concord University in West Virginia. 

At Concord University, Allen currently serves as the Chair for the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences and a Distinguished Professor of Geology.  He has led numerous undergraduate-focused research projects, including five National Science Foundation (NSF) grants and several from the American Chemical Society (ACS). Focused on undergraduate development, Allen is leading a new NSF Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) grant to develop leaders on campus. The grant provides scholarships, science engagement activities, and faculty mentoring to low-income students.

Allen spends his time split between field research and lab research with undergraduate students. His research focuses on field problems in structural geology. Field samples are analyzed by microstructural imaging using an electron microprobe at Concord and various instruments at NanoEarth. Between the field, electron microprobe, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), the scale spans from tens of kilometers to tens of centimeters in the field, to hundreds of micrometers to tens of nanometers in the lab!

Allen has frequently brought his geology and chemistry students to NanoEarth to tour the Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory (NCFL), meet with scientists, talk to graduate advisors, and spend time on Virginia Tech’s campus. He has partnered with NanoEarth for the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), enabling students to gain laboratory experience with researchers. His students have been able to travel to and showcase their findings at the NNCI REU Convocations at Montana State University and the University of California at San Diego.

Allen is part of the Geological Society of America, American Geophysical Union (AGU), and Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). He enjoys biking and exercising in his spare time. His advice to young researchers is “to maintain persistence in your interests and do what matters to you”.