Courses Taught
Quaternary Paleoclimatology
Upper-level undergraduate and graduate course on how climate has shaped ocean and continental processes across geologic time, and the growing role humans play in that system. The course includes several problem sets applying climate datasets, primary literature review, student-led presentations and discussions, and culminates in a topical paper that provides a thorough review of a topic of interest related to Quaternary paleoclimatology.
Earth Surface Processes & Landforms
Undergraduate course and introduction to ArcGIS Pro via applied geomorphic datasets in the laboratory section. The course also included two field labs where students collected and analyzed field data. The course culminated in a final lab exercise mapping fluvial vs. anthropogenic landforms in the Whitewater River watershed, a region heavily shaped by Euro-American agriculture and central to my PhD research.
Paleoclimate & Glacial Processes Field Course
Three-week field course where students reconstructed regional climate history via Holocene paleoclimate proxies and Quaternary sediment mapping in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA. The course also incorporated group presentations synthesizing primary literature for key field sites in the region, alongside instruction in field science best practices, stratigraphic descriptions, and the practical skills needed to work independently in the field. Co-taught with Prof. Meredith Kelly.
Guest Teaching & Teaching Assistantships
I have held 9 teaching assistantship appointments and taught 7 guest lectures across 4 institutions.
Guest Teaching
Geomorphology — Denison University
In-class activity on shallow subsurface hydrology and the impacts of urbanization and land use change on stormwater discharge
Isotope Geochemistry — University of Minnesota
Lecture on applications of cosmogenic nuclide and optically stimulated luminescence dating to deglaciation and the impacts of glacial melting on river systems
Surface & Groundwater Hydrology — Macalester College
Two course sessions and a lab focused on water quality and state-level environmental legislation in Minnesota, incorporating an in-class activity, lecture, and facilitated class discussion
Geomorphology — University of Minnesota
Four lectures and original assignments on glacial processes, deglaciation, and paraglacial environments
Advanced Geomorphology — Macalester College
Geomorphology and optically stimulated luminescence lecture, activity, and facilitated class discussion
Teaching Assistantships
Geomorphology — University of Minnesota
Hydrogeology Field Camp — University of Minnesota
Earth Surface Processes — University of Minnesota
Earth & Its Environments — University of Minnesota
Introduction to Geology — Carleton College
Undergraduate Mentoring
I have supervised 11 undergraduate research students across 4 institutions. I've been fortunate to work with students from a wide variety of identities, backgrounds, and interests. My time with students has ranged from a single semester or field campaign, through to multi-year collaborations and co-authorship on peer-reviewed manuscripts. Through our time together, I work to empower students to feel ownership over their research and engage as active inquirers into Earth's processes.
Featured Students
Lang Burgess
Lang Burgess (Dartmouth College '27) has been a driving force behind the kettle lake research project since Spring 2025, developing the standard operating procedures for structure-from-motion and DEM generation in Metashape and conducting experiments using ice spheres and our "Sandbox of Science". This project was Lang's first experience with scientific research and through our time together she has learned structure-from-motion photogrammetry, GIS, and glacial geology. Lang applied skills she learned from our work together during a term abroad at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, where she used QGIS for landslide analysis. Lang has since received a college-level undergraduate research grant to support her work and is completing a senior thesis on this project during the 2026-2027 academic year. She will be attending and presenting her research at the 2026 American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
Abigail Wilwerding
Abby Wilwerding (University of Minnesota '24) began working with me in Spring 2023 to analyze a slackwater sediment core from southeastern Minnesota. She completed detailed sediment descriptions, built a stratigraphic column, and managed X-ray fluorescence analysis of the core at the University of Minnesota Duluth Large Lakes Observatory. Abby was instrumental in initial data analysis and statistical interpretation of our cores in relation to sediment provenance. She received an Undergraduate Research Opportunity grant from the University of Minnesota for her work and presented her research at the 2024 North-Central/South-Central Section Geological Society of America Regional Conference. Following graduation, Abby worked in environmental consulting for several years and began a masters program at the University of Wisconsin Madison in Fall 2026. She is the second author on the manuscript for this work, which is currently in review.