I am a faculty member in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech, and am affiliated with the geobiology, geochemistry, and environmental science academic options. I study organic materials in both modern and ancient environments, using their molecular structure and stable-isotopic composition to understand where they come from, what processes have affected them, and what environmental conditions they record. This gets variously described as organic geochemistry, geobiology, and isotopic biogeochemistry. My research spans a range of interests, from records of life on the ancient Earth to carbon cycling in the modern oceans, and lots else in between. Current research projects are described here.
My research group currently consists of a lab manager, 2 postdocs, and 2 PhD students. You can see their smiling faces here. If you are interested in coming to work with me as a student or postdoc, please email.
I currently teach two courses at Caltech: Organic Geochemistry (Ge 143) in the fall of even-numbered years (last taught in 2012), and Isotopic Biogeochemistry (Ge 145) is odd-numbered fall terms, next up in 2013. Global Biogeochemical Cycles (ESE 103, formerly ESE148c), which I used to teach, will be taught by Paul Wennberg beginning this year. I also teach in the Agouron International Geobiology Course during the summers, and highly recommend it.
Caltech is considering a new faculty hire in the field of global biogeochemistry, broadly defined. If you are interested, even several years down the road, please send me an email.