People

From leading faculty and dedicated staff to talented graduate students and researchers, our people contribute to the vibrant intellectual life of UC Santa Cruz Earth & Planetary Sciences. We work together to drive discovery, support education, and foster an inclusive and collaborative environment. Get to know the individuals who are at the forefront of exploring our planet and beyond.

Faculty

Terrence J Blackburn

  • Title
    • Associate Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A108
  • Office Hours
    • By appointment
  • Summary of Expertise
    •  

      U-Pb Geochronology

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Emily Elizabeth Brodsky

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, c370
  • Summary of Expertise
      • Earthquake Physics
      • Geohazards
      • Granular flow
      • Friction, strength of materials and tribology
      • Reservoir engineering and borehole geophysics
      • Machine learning and prediction  
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Patrick Y Chuang

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-1501
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A254
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry

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Matthew E Clapham

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-1276
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A208
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Invertebrate Paleontology, Paleoecology

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Nicole A Feldl

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Noah Finnegan

  • Title
    • Department Chair & Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-5110
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A115
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Geomorphology

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Andrew T Fisher

  • Title
    • Distinguished Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-5598
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A209
  • Office Hours
    • varies by quarter
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Hydrogeology, Water Resources, Crustal Studies, Heat Flow, Coupled Modeling, Geothermal Tool Development

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Ian Garrick-Bethell

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-1277
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Planetary Interiors, Paleomagnetism

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Gary B Griggs

  • Title
    • Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-5006
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A-361
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Coastal Processes and Hazards, Coastal Engineering, Impacts and Adaptation to Sea Level Rise

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Mathis P Hain

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Jeremy Keith Hourigan

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-2873
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A221
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Thermochronology, structural geology and tectonics

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Paul L Koch

  • Title
    • Distinguished Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A115
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Isotope biogeochemistry, paleobiology, ecology and evolution

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Francis Nimmo

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-1783
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A219
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Summary of expertise: Planetary geophysics Satellite interiors and evolution Planet formation

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Adina Paytan

  • Title
    • Faculty
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 650-274-6084
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, C308
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Biogeochemistry, Paleoceanography, Environmental and Aquatic Chemistry

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Tamara Pico

  • Title
    • Assistant Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 8315214828
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A202
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Heather M Savage

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-3222
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, C340
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Myriam Telus

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Slawomir M Tulaczyk

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A112
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Glaciology and Glacial Geology, Glacial Geomorphology, Soil Mechanics

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Ethan Williams

  • Title
    • Assistant Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, C316
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Quentin Williams

  • Title
    • Distinguished Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-3132
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A212
  • Office Hours
    • On Sabbatical, Fall 2021
  • Summary of Expertise
    • Mineral Physics, Experimental Geochemistry

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Xi Zhang

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-502-8126
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A261
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Affiliated Faculty

Elliott Elliot Campbell

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Weixin Cheng

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Christopher A Edwards

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Jonathan J Fortney

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Michael E Loik

  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • Environmental Studies Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-5785
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Interdisciplinary Sciences Building, 473
  • Office Hours
    • W 10:45-11:45 h live, Th 14:00 – 15:00 h on Zoom, or by appt
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Pratigya J Polissar

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Margaret A Zimmer

  • Title
    • Adjunct Associate Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-502-8714
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A305
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Emeriti Faculty

Erik Asphaug

  • Title
    • Professor Emeritus
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-2260
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Remote work location, N/A
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Kenneth L Cameron

  • Title
    • Professor Emeritus
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-4089
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A232
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Robert S Coe

  • Title
    • Professor Emeritus
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-4089
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, Earth & Marine Sciences A202
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James B Gill

  • Title
    • Distinguished Professor Emeritus
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-3842
  • Campus Email
  • Website
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Gary A Glatzmaier

  • Title
    • Professor Emeritus
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 541-214-5882
  • Campus Email
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Elise Knittle

  • Title
    • Professor Emerita
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-4089
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, EMS C448 (Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences office)
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Thorne Lay

  • Title
    • Distinguished Professor Emeritus
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-3164
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, C382
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Susan Y Schwartz

  • Title
    • Professor Emerita
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-3133
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A133
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Eli A Silver

  • Title
    • Professor Emeritus
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-2266
  • Campus Email
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James C Zachos

  • Title
    • Distinguished Professor Emeritus
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-4644
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, Earth & Marine Sciences A260
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Researchers

Donna K Blackman

  • Title
    • Research Geophysicist
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 760-965-6764
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Remote work location, N/A
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Joseph Kelii Fackrell

  • Title
    • Research Associate
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 808-271-1228
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A232
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Mykhaylo Kreslavsky

  • Title
    • Assistant Research Planetary Scientist
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-5143
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, C316
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Valere Lambert

  • Title
    • Associate Researcher
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-4089
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, C360
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David M Rubin

  • Title
    • Researcher
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-4089
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Remote work location, N/A
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Steven Neal Ward

  • Title
    • Research Geophysicist
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-4089
  • Campus Email
  • Website
  • Office Location
    • Remote work location, N/A
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Nadav Wetzler

  • Title
    • Research Associate
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-265-3719
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, C365
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Xiao Bi Xie

  • Title
    • Research Geophysicist
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-5094
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, C328
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Xixi Zhao

  • Title
    • Researcher
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-4089
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Remote work location, N/A
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Lecturers

Peter S Weiss

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Postdoctoral Fellows

Carolina Bueno

  • Title
    • PhD/Post-doc
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 8318893832
  • Campus Email
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Daniel Edmund Gaskell

  • Title
    • Postdoctoral Scholar
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, D306
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Secana Portia Goudy

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William M Steinhardt

  • Title
    • Postdoctoral Scholar
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-4089
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, C366
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Project Scientists & Specialists

Katherine Armstrong

  • Title
    • Associate Specialist
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 510-486-4226
  • Campus Email

Anais Ferot

  • Title
    • Assistant Project Scientist SZ4D Managing Director
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email

Jacqueline Antoinette Jabuka

  • Title
    • Graduate Student Researcher
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email

Kerri N Johnson

  • Title
    • Graduate Student
  • Department
    • PBSci-Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email

Administrative Staff

Noah Finnegan

  • Title
    • Department Chair & Professor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-5110
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A115
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Lisa Michelle Stipanovich

  • Title
    • Senior Department Manager
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • (831)459-4478
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A233
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Allison Curtis

  • Title
    • Department Assistant
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A232A
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Jennifer Maria Fish

  • Title
    • Graduate Programs Coordinator/Advisor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-459-1235
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A251
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Jade Jessica Loftus

  • Title
    • Earth and Planetary Science Lead Adviser and Program Coordinator
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-502-7070 (Office)
  • Campus Email
  • Office Location
    • Earth & Marine Sciences, A234A
  • Office Hours
    • by appointment
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Melissa Lee Fike

  • Title
    • Undergraduate Advisor
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
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Technical Staff

Brecky R Morris

  • Title
    • Instrument Specialist
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • 831-246-1645
  • Campus Email
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Brandon Cheney

  • Title
    • Specialist
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
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Erick Cano

  • Title
    • Associate Specialist
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Phone
    • (831) 459-5857
  • Campus Email
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Miguel Cruz

  • Title
    • Instrument Specialist
  • Department
    • Earth & Planetary Sciences Department
  • Campus Email
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Graduate Students

Ryu Akiba

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Last modified: Aug 22, 2025