People
Elizabeth Niespolo
Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences, Princeton University
Associated Faculty, High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University
Research Associate, Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town
Previously:
2019 - 2021: Barr Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology
Ph.D., 2019, Earth & Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley
M.S., 2014, Geology at California State University, Long Beach
B.A., 2009, Astrophysics and Classics-Latin (with Honors) at the University of California, Berkeley
Teaching:
GEO 464: Quantifying Geologic Time, Princeton U.
GEO 203: The Habitable Planet, Princeton U.
EPS 100B: Petrology, UC Berkeley
GEOL 110L: Natural Distasters, CSU Long Beach
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in Earth Sciences, Princeton University
Ph.D. 2020, Geosciences at Princeton University
Alliya is interested in Ca, Mg, and Sr elemental cycling and their applications to biominerals such as teeth.
Expertise: ICP-MS, non-traditional stable isotopes, paleoecological proxy records, Earth history
Dr. Francisco Apen
Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Geosciences, Princeton University
Co-advised with Blair Schoene
Ph.D. 2022, Earth Science at UC Santa Barbara
Francisco is interested in deep crustal processes and high-temperature geochemistry.
Expertise: Laser ablation ICP-MS, Metamorphic petrology and geochemistry, evolution of the continental lithosphere
Dr. Marcos Salas-Saavedra
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Geosciences, Princeton University
Ph.D. 2019, Geochemistry and Geochronology, at University of Queensland
Marcos is an experienced researcher specializing in environmental geochemistry and U-series geochronology, with a deep understanding of paleoclimate dynamics over geological timescales. His primary research focus revolves around the utilization of trace elements, particularly rare earth elements (REEs), as proxies found in fossil coral. By combining these elements with coral reef paleoecological assemblages, Marcos aims to unravel the influence of climate patterns on environments such as coral reefs.
Expertise: Environmental Geochemistry, U-series Geochronology, Coral Reefs and Paleoecological Assemblages, Microbialites
Harry Hess Postdoctoral Fellow in Geosciences, Princeton University
Co-advised with John Higgins
Ph.D. 2022, Geology at SUNY Binghamton
Mebrahtu is interested in documenting the major, minor, and trace element composition of seawater in the Phanerozoic and Neoproterozoic using direct measurements in fluid inclusions trapped in marine halite and to better understand what controls long-term changes in the elemental and isotopic composition of seawater on multimillion-year timescales. His studies aim to link secular oscillations in seawater chemistry with long-term variations in atmospheric CO2 and climate.
Expertise: Laser ablation ICP-MS, fluid inclusions in evaporites, paleoceanography and Earth history
Noe-Heon Kim
Ph.D. Candidate
M.S. 2022, Paleontology, Seoul National University of South Korea
B.S. 2018, Geology, Seoul National University
Noe-Heon is interested in developing novel isotopic methods for radioisotopic dating of dinosaur eggs to correlate distant sedimentary basins and study the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates in an enhanced temporal framework.
Ph.D. Student
B.A., 2021, Geology and Archaeology, University of Florida
Olivia is interested in using 230Th/U burial dating and stable isotope analysis of ostrich eggshell fragments (OES) from archaeological sites across Eastern and North Africa to track early human dispersal. In her free time, Olivia likes to run and make science communication (scicomm) videos related to her field.
Ph.D. Candidate, co-advised with Danny Sigman
B.S. 2022, Geochemistry, Nanjing University of China
Damon is interested in using nitrogen and carbon isotopes from biomineral-bound organics to reconstruct paleoenvironments.
Lauren Gilmore
Ph.D Student, co-advised with John Higgins
B.S. 2022, Geosciences, University of Arizona
Minor in Anthropology
Lauren is interested in exploring isotope systems, primarily calcium, in teeth from a variety of organisms to investigate natural variability, the environmental effects, and to determine what we can learn about past environments from teeth.
