John Brady is a hardrock geologist who regularly teaches a first-year seminar and intermediate geoscience courses in mineralogy and petrology. His research interests range from the evolution of metamorphic rocks in Montana and Greece to atomic diffusion measurements in the experimental petrology lab (“cooking rocks”). A common theme of his research projects and those of the students who work with him is the use of minerals and the high temperature chemistry of rocks to understand geologic processes on many scales.

Current projects include adding Raman and FTIR spectroscopy to Smith geoscience courses, and writing an interactive, online textbook for igneous and metamorphic petrology.