I am an interdisciplinary geoscientist working primarily in the field of geoarchaeology. My current research focuses on the prairie environments of Illinois, USA, as well as the deserts of Jordan and North Africa. I am interested in soils and hydrologic processes as they are applied to human-environment interactions across a variety of landscapes and time periods. My lab uses sedimentary archives to reconstruct environmental conditions relevant to human groups of the past, and examines archaeological materials in order to understand manufacture and raw material sourcing. In addition, I am interested in soil erosion and nutrient cycling of phosphorous as indicators of historical and current impacts on the landscapes of Illinois, and I work with GIS and differential GPS in my research and teaching. One of my primary goals is to engage undergraduate students in understanding the coupled human-environment system that is our planet Earth, as well as how the experience of our species over the past 10,000 years can inform our ability to adapt to an uncertain environmental future.
Professor and Chair of Environmental Studies, Douglas and Maria Bayer Chair of Earth Science at Knox College
