Associate Professor of Earth Sciences
Justin V. Strauss
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My primary interest is reconstructing Earth’s history, particularly the co-evolution of Earth and life during key periods of tectonic and climatic change. Most of my projects are framed through the lens of field-based sedimentology, stratigraphy, and geological mapping; however, I also integrate a wide array of tools, such as isotope geochemistry, geochronology, paleontology, and structural geology to explore outstanding problems in historical geobiology and global tectonics. |
Lecturers/Postdoctoral Fellows
Ben Davis Barnes
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As a biogeochemist, my research focuses on interpreting the composition of the sedimentary and fossil record to better understand Earth history. My work typically involves leveraging large geochemical datasets to assess how the carbonate sedimentary archive preserves paleo-seawater composition and what this can inform us about the ocean-atmosphere system across paleoclimatic perturbations. I also interrogate global stratigraphic databases for patterns in how the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere have coevolved over geologic timescales.
At Dartmouth I will be investigating abiotic carbonate minerals in ancient and anomalous modern environments. I aim to elucidate the controls on their formation and geochemical composition through laboratory experiments and field sampling of co-occurring abiotic and microbial textures. Through this project I hope to increase our understanding of ancient seawater chemistry, both as a precursor to and potential trigger for the evolution of metazoan calcifiers. Pronouns: he/him
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Graduate Students
Geordi Geier – PhD
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My research is focused on the geological evolution of the northernmost part of the North American Cordillera. I am studying a succession of Devonian–Carboniferous rocks in the northeastern Brooks Range of Alaska to clarify the sequence of tectonic events that occurred during the amalgamation of the Arctic Alaska terrane. This research involves field-based geologic mapping and stratigraphic analysis, detrital zircon geochronology, mudstone geochemistry, and biostratigraphy. |
Alec Getraer – PhD
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I study geomorphology and how landscapes respond to and record climate change. As an undergraduate, I investigated climate signatures encoded in the geometry of branching rivers. My PhD research, co-advised by Marisa Palucis and Justin Strauss, focuses on quantifying sediment transport and delivery in rapidly warming Arctic watersheds. I am interested in how feedbacks between climate, ecology, and surface processes control periglacial landscape stability, and in how the influence of past conditions and processes persist in the morphology and hydrology of post-glacial landscapes. |
Reina Harding – PhD
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My research interests are centered on investigating the interplay between environmental and biotic systems and how those relationships broadly inform Earth’s history. My work is specifically focused on the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, an interval of time marked by notable changes in biogeochemical cycling and the evolution of life on Earth. Using field observations, sedimentary geochemistry, and modeling to analyze carbonate-dominated rocks in the Yukon, Canada, I hope to further contextualize the geologic settings that characterize this pivotal boundary in Earth’s history. |
Bailey Nordin – MSc
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I am interested in linking past changes in the climate, glacial history, and tectonics of polar environments through the combination of geochronometers, ranging from the decadal to million-year scale. My current research focuses on the effects of past climate on landscape evolution across an Arctic permafrost catchment in the Northern Richardson Mountains of the Northwest Territories, Canada. In order to quantify erosion rates and glacial history through time, I am employing a variety of field and lab techniques, including (U-Th)/He thermochronology, cosmogenic nuclide dating, and optically stimulated luminescence dating. |
Tianran Zhang – PhD
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I am interested in investigating Earth’s history through the lens of sedimentary geology. My research is currently centered on reconstructing the depositional and tectonic history of Mesoproterozoic strata in North China. My work involves both field-based sedimentology and geochemical analysis such as stable isotope chemostratigraphy and detrital zircon geochronology. I am also passionate about helping undergraduates, especially those who come from underrepresented backgrounds, to explore their interests in geology. |
Lab Manager
London Warburton
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In future research, I hope to combine multi-chronometer techniques and field observation to study rocks generated/deposited during orogenesis and rifting. I am particularly interested in the rock record preserved in the Caledonide, Appalachian, and Canadian Cordilleran mountains. My undergraduate work focused on the paleomagnetism of basalts erupted during the rifting of Pangea in modern day Nova Scotia. |
Undergraduate Students
Willie Kellogg
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I began helping with lab work in the Strauss Lab since the spring of 2024, initially assisting Reina with her work on carbonate carbon isotope geochemistry before transitioning to help Geordi with his research on arctic margin tectonics. I am very excited about mapping and fieldwork in remote locations, and I am looking forward to doing just that this summer in British Columbia! |
Caden Marcum
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Growing up hiking and kayaking I have an immense love for the Earth and the resources it provides. I am very excited to be studying the processes which have created the landscapes we interact with. Being from Indiana, home of the ‘Limestone Capital of the World’ I have an interest in sedimentary geology and paleoclimate reconstruction. |
Keegan Miller
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I grew up in Southeastern Wyoming spending time in the mountains and ranges of the western United States. I am majoring in Engineering and Earth Science. I will be working in British Columbia and Alaska this summer and have particular interest in mapping and remote fieldwork. |
Marina Rodriguez
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Having grown up with a great love for nature and outdoor engagement, I am excited by studying how the Earth works and Earth’s history. I have a particular interest in the tectonics and geology of Puerto Rico, where much of my family lives, and hope to do future work in the area.marina.c.rodriguez.27@dartmouth.edu |
Past Lab Group Members
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- Tyler Allen – lab manager – Colorado Mountain School
- James F. Busch – PhD student – Fidelity Investments
- Erin Donaghy – postdoctoral fellow – Professor at University of Nevada at Las Vegas
- Karol Faehnrich – PhD student – Postdoc at University of Adelaide
- Peter Galloway – lab manager – Dartmouth MSc student
- Timothy M. Gibson – postdoctoral fellow –
- Parker Jones – undergraduate student – TetraTech
- Peter Kannam – undergraduate student – TetraTech
- Joseph Malinowski – undergraduate student – Texas Instruments
- Peter Mamrol – undergraduate student – Jacobs Engineering
- Akshay Mehra – postdoctoral fellow – Professor at University of Washington
- Caroline Needell – lab manager – MIT/WHOI PhD student
- Bailey Nordin – lab manager – Strauss Lab MSc student
- Charlotte Nutt – undergraduate student – University of Southern Maine Law
- Joshua Perez – undergraduate student – Peace Corps.
- Charlie Robinson – lab manager – Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
- Maxwell Saylor – undergraduate student – Roux Associates
- Shaalin Sehra – undergraduate student – MIT PhD student
- Catie Stukel – undergraduate student – Dartmouth Geisel Medical School
- Jack Taylor – undergraduate student – Outside Bozeman
- Luis Torres – MSc student –
- Forrest Town – undergraduate student – VMBA
- Christian Trejo – undergraduate student – Arete Inc.
- Ginny Wala – MSc student –