CV

Education

B.S. (geology), Hobart College, 1979

M.S. (geology), University of Montana, 1981

Ph.D. (geology), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1985

Professional Experience

Research Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada, 1985-1988

Postdoctoral Fellow, Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, 1985-1987

Associate Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, 1987-1988

Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988-1991

Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1991-1995

Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995-2001

Waldemar Lindgren Distinguished Scholar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998-2001

Director, Earth Resources Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999-2003

Robert E. Shrock Professor of Geology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001-2005

Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology, California Institute of Technology, 2005-2021

Chief Scientist, Mars Science Laboratory Rover, 2006-2015

Ted and Ginger Jenkins Leadership Chair of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 2014-present

Division Chair of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Caltech, 2014-present

Co-Director, Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life, 2018-2023

Harold Brown Professor of Geology, 2021-present

Major Research Interests

Sedimentology; stratigraphy; geobiology; ancient surface processes on Earth and Mars. Field-based investigations of depositional systems are the starting point for analysis of past processes, interactions between life and environment, and tectonic and climatic regimes.