I am a Professor of Geobiology in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech, affiliated with the geobiology and geochemistry academic options. I teach three courses: Organic Geochemistry (Ge 143), Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (Ge 145), and Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry (Ge 140c). Ge-145 is taught in the fall, Ge-140c and 143 are in the spring in alternate years.
My research employs the structure, abundance, and stable isotope composition of organic molecules to solve a range of problems in Earth and Environmental Sciences. We work on everything from modern oceans, soils, plants and microbes, to 3 billion year-old rocks. Our special expertise lies in finding new ways to measure the abundance of stable isotopes in these organic molecules, and applying those measurement techniques to learn about the Earth and its inhabitants. This research is variously described as organic geochemistry, geobiology, or biogeochemistry – whatever you call it, we're firmly in the cracks between isotope geochemistry, environmental mircrobiology, global elemental cycles, and Earth history.
My research group currently consists of a lab manager, 2 postdocs, and 5 PhD students. You can see their smiling faces here. I am not currently accepting any new graduate students for 2023, but if you are interested in doing a summer research internship then please get in touch.
The International Geobiology Course, a summer graduate training course, was hosted at Caltech from 2017-2022. In 2023 the course will move to Penn State University, where Kate Freeman and Jenn Macalady are taking a turn at the helm.
