About
I’m a geochemist and paleoecologist. My research focuses on the interaction between climate and ecology and has spanned geologic time from the Cambrian to present day. I use a variety of techniques including stable isotope geochemistry, geochronology, and Bayesian modeling. Currently I’m the Technical Director of the Stable Isotope Ecosystems Lab at the University of California, Merced where I help researchers (undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty) from across the university measure stable isotope compositions and elemental content in a variety of materials including soil and plants 🌱, carbonates 🥚, teeth and bones 🦷, and a range of soft tissue from animals including fish 🐠, sharks 🦈, wolves 🐺 and extinct mammals 🦣. I’m also a member of the Isotope Geology Lab at Boise State University where i’m working on integrating astrochronological inversions 🪐 and radioisotope geochronology ⚛️ into age-depth models.
Education
2018: PhD Geosciences, Boise State University
- Dissertation: Evaluating Stable Isotope and Geochronologic Techniques for Paleoclimate Reconstruction
- Advisor: Matthew J. Kohn
2012: MS Geology, California State University, Fresno
- Thesis: Stable Isotope Records of Inland California Megafauna
- Advisor: Robert G. Dundas
2007: BA Anthropology, California State University, Fresno
- Cultural anthropology and archaeology emphasis