Liannie Velázquez-Santana, Ph.D.

Dr. Velázquez Santana is an igneous petrologist and geochemist who investigates the development and evolution of arc magmatic systems in continental and island arc settings, combining petrology, geochemistry, and geochronology to reconstruct these processes. Her fieldwork spans the Bolivian Altiplano in the Central Andes and the Caribbean arc in Puerto Rico. A developing component of her research explores the potential for critical mineral and material resources within arc magmatic systems. 

She completed her Ph.D. in Geology at Miami University and her B.Sc. in Geology at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. She was a Provost’s Early Career Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, followed by a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Lucas J. Kimes Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Velázquez Santana joined Baylor University as an Assistant Professor in August 2026, where she currently leads the TERRA (Transcrustal Evolution & Reservoir Reconstruction in Arc Magmas) Lab. The TERRA Lab welcomes students interested in igneous petrology, geochemistry, and the study of magmatic systems in our planet. She is also an advocate for creating welcoming spaces for all students and currently co-leads the GeoComunidad Affinity Group within the Geological Society of America (GSA). 

Selected Publications (books, journal articles, op-eds, etc.): 

• Velázquez Santana, L.C., McLeod, C.L., Brown, K. (in review). Deep crustal recycling of supracrustal material beneath the Bolivian Altiplano: zircon U-Pb-Hf constraints from crustal xenoliths. GSA Bulletin.
• Velázquez Santana, L.C., Patacsil, J., Hudgins, T., Mahan, K.H. (2026). Multi-Stage Assembly of the Utuado Pluton, Puerto Rico: Evidence from Enclaves and Amphibole Geochemistry. Journal of the Geological Society. https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2025-245
• Velázquez Santana, L.C., McLeod, C.L., Shaulis, B., Loocke, M., Al Gbory, R. (2025). Trans Crustal Magmatic Processes revealed by Ca-Amphibole Breakdown Textures at the Quillacas Volcanic Center, Bolivia. Lithos. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2024.107891

Velázquez Santana, L.C., McLeod, C.L., Blakemore, D., Shaulis, B., Hill, T. (2020). Bolivian Cumulate Hornblendites: Insights into the Depths of Central Andean Arc Magmatic Systems. Lithos. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2020.105618