As you will read below, new geophysics faculty member Ginny Gong joined us this past January, and geochemist Julia Kelson and glaciologist David Lilien will join our faculty next January. With the other hires over the last few years, the department has grown back to the size we were prior to the wave of retirements over the last six years.
Jianhua (Ginny) Gong joined our department in January 2023 as an Assistant Professor. Jianhua is a seismologist using both seismological observations and numerical simulations to understand the structure, seismic activity, and deformation of major tectonic plate boundaries. Her current research focuses on subduction zones and oceanic transform faults.
Ginny Gong
Julia Kelson is a sedimentary geochemist and paleoclimatologist. She researches modern and ancient environmental change on land, primarily through the lens of stable isotopes in sediments. She is currently fascinated by soils because they make up the physical interface between climates and landscapes. She will be joining the faculty in January 2024 as an Assistant Professor.
Julia Kelson
David Lilien is a Research Associate in glaciology at the University of Manitoba. He studies the dynamics of ice streams and outlet glaciers using numerical models, remote sensing, and field data. His primary interest is understanding how recent changes to large outlet glaciers will propagate upstream; this involves simulating modern changes as well as contextualize current retreat by understanding past ice flow. Starting January, 2024, he will be an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Indiana University.
David Lilien
Meagan Need, our new Program and Financial Coordinator for the IU Geologic Field Station, previously worked in the hospitality industry and as Hotel Manager of the Indiana Memorial Union Biddle Hotel and Conference Center.
Meagan Need
Jon Thompson, our new Residential Field Station Manager, has extensive experience in all the areas required for the IUGFS Resident Manager and started his position on June 12.
IUGFS
Molly Karnes, our new SIRF Technical Manager, comes to us from the University of California at Merced, where she received her MSc looking at carbonate isotopes in shark teeth.
SIRF Lab
The College of Arts