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Biography
I graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Chemistry in 2017 and participated in several organic synthesis and geochemistry research labs. My interests in both chemistry and the natural world led me to the department of Earth Sciences and in 2019 I received my M.S. in Geology from Indiana University with Dr. Gregory Druschel. My thesis work involved organic phosphorus cycling in eutrophic lakes, phosphorus associations with iron-bearing minerals, and how their interactions contribute to harmful algal blooms. Shortly after I moved to Tallahassee, FL to start my Ph.D. with Dr. Robert Spencer at Florida State University where I studied dissolved organic matter and carbon cycling from arctic lakes to temperate wetlands.
I defended Ph.D. dissertation in Chemical Oceanography in 2023 and remained in the Spencer lab for two more years as a postdoctoral researcher where I studied land-to-ocean carbon export from tropical rivers. My work focused on how the Amazon River network and land use changes impact the global carbon cycle and included an interdisciplinary collaboration between the department of Earth, Ocean, Atmospheric Science and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Current work
In 2025 I joined the Borch lab at Colorado State University to study the chemical composition of produced water from oil and natural gas extraction in the Permian Basin. My work involves identifying and characterizing organic compounds from both raw produced water and various treatment methods using non-targeted analysis via mass spectrometry. This methodological approach will further be used to develop a predicative framework between chemical properties and potential cell toxicity.
Outside of science, I enjoy board gaming, watercolor painting, photography, and playing bass guitar. As a typical Earth scientist, I also love to travel and be outdoors whenever I can.