I am a sedimentary geologist and taphonomist most interested in studying terrestrial and marginal marine depositional systems, especially those with abundant fossils. My current research focuses on understanding how fossilization of vertebrate remains transpires in different depositional settings (lakes vs. rivers vs. soils). To this end, my students and I have been exploring the diagenesis of vertebrate fossils from the Cretaceous of Montana (specifically the Two Medicine and Judith River Formations) and Madagascar using a variety of analytical techniques, including SEM-EDS, LA-ICP-MS, and standard petrographic microscopy. My other on-going research interest is the reconstruction of terrestrial ecosystems using sedimentological and taphonomic lines of evidence. This work has taken me to the Cretaceous foreland basin of Montana, the Triassic Ischigualasto Basin of Argentina, the Triassic-Jurassic Karoo-equivalent rocks of southern Zimbabwe, and the Mahajanga Basin of Madagascar.

I teach a selection of courses at Macalester College that relate to my research interests, including: (1) History and Evolution of Earth (GEOL 155), (2) Paleobiology (GEOL 300), and (3) Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (GEOL 265). A significant part of my time is spent mentoring of student research, and I work with students both in the laboratory and in the field. For more information on our department curriculum and student research opportunities, please see the links above. My Curriculum Vitae is available here

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