​​I am a coastal geologist, geomorphologist and geochronologist, specializing in the use of sedimentary records to understand coastal geology and geomorphology, paleoclimate and extreme events, estuarine dynamics and environmental change.   I completed my M.S. and Ph.D. in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, receiving an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to fund a portion of my dissertation work. My previous work has included:

• Characterizing the formation and migration of parabolic sand dunes along SW Michigan shoreline through paleosol analysis and limnological records.
• Investigating barrier island evolution as a function of back-barrier erosion and low sediment supply, resulting from increased storm frequency/intensity and the underlying geologic framework.
• Understanding event scale estuarine sediment dynamics within a coastal watershed through high resolution geochronology in semi-enclosed coastal basin.

The current research in my lab, the Coastal Research and Extreme Events (Co.R.E.E.) lab, focuses on the reconstruction of extreme climatic events (e.g., droughts, floods, tropical cyclone activity) through dendrologic (tree ring) records (oxygen isotopes, ring width, anatomical anomalies) and sediment records of paleotempestites (storm deposits). Additionally, we have projects working on marsh accretion and transgression due to sea-level rise and storms, back-barrier erosion and coastal geomorphology, as well as suspended sediment transport and bacteria/virus attenuation in small watersheds adjacent failing septic systems.    

As a first-generation college graduate, and an early career female scientist, I have a strong interest in building diversity within the University of Alabama and relish the opportunity to mentor and teach under-represented undergraduate and graduate students both in the laboratory and classroom settings. I am passionate about teaching and mentoring students and look forward to continuing to work with students of all backgrounds to build an understanding of and interest in the processes that affect our planet.