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The Williams Sigma Xi Spring Lecture featuring Phoebe Cohen, associate professor of geosciences

Tue, April 23rd, 2019
4:15 pm
- 5:15 pm

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Phoebe Cohen, associate professor of geosciences, will present the Sigma Xi lecture, “Answering Burning Questions by Burning Tiny Fossils: Reconstructing Ancient Ecosystems via Single-Microfossil Carbon Isotopes,” at Williams College. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Tuesday, April 23, from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m., in Wege Auditorium. A reception will follow in the Science Atrium.

Cohen is a paleontologist who researches how life and environments have co-evolved throughout earth history, with a focus on life before the evolution of animals. In her lecture, Cohen will share existing work using this new technique to explore the Late Devonian Mass Extinction event in Upstate New York. She will also discuss her new project utilizing this technique on Proterozoic microfossils from before the evolution of animals.

Cohen earned a B.A. in earth systems science from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cohen was awarded the Geological Society of America Subaru Outstanding Woman in Science Award in 2012. Her work has been published in journals including Science AdvancesPalaeontologyPalaiosJournal of Paleontology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Cohen’s research is funded by the NASA Astrobiology program, the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, and the National Science Foundation.

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