Dr. Lizzy Trower

Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences

Chemical sedimentology, process sedimentology, Precambrian geology, historical geobiology
Lizzy applies a variety of methods - experiments, modeling, field work, and in situ geochemistry - to characterize how chemical sediments and sedimentary rocks formed in order to improve their utility as paleoenvironmental proxies and geobiological records.

Juliana Olsen-Valdez

PhD student

Juliana combines carbonate sedimentology and stable isotope geochemistry to study past climate and environmental change as recorded in ancient lacustrine (lake) carbonate rocks. Juliana is currently studying carbonate rocks formed in the Sheep Pass Formation lake basin (Nevada) during the Paleogene. More generally, Juliana is interested in using past greenhouse climate records to inform future climate predictions.

Tyler Lincoln

PhD student

Tyler is interested in investigating microbial interactions with carbonate minerals using various microanalysis techniques, both in lacustrine environments like Great Salt Lake and in marine environments.

Bri Hibner

PhD Student

Bri's geological interests are in modern island building processes in carbonate systems, especially the role of microbial mats in that process. She also also gets excited about how calcifying algae have already been affected by climate change. Her “free time” interests involve hiking, biking and skiing and another other connecting medium between moving her body and nature.

Jim Gutoski

PhD Student

Jim is using petrography to characterize microfabrics associated with giant ooids in the Tonian Beck Spring Dolomite.

Nicole Mizrahi

PhD Student

Nicole is using in situ Si isotope analyses of early Paleozoic siliceous fossils (sponge spicules and radiolarians) to understand the early evolutionary history of silica biomineralization.

Amir Romly

Undergraduate Researcher (Uplift Program)

Amir is investigating the application of guttulatic microfabric (a petrographic fingerprint of the cold-water carbonate mineral ikaite) as a paleoenvironmental proxy, with a specific focus on Oligocene lacustrine sediments of the Creede Formation in Colorado.

Former lab members (postdoc/grad)

Catherine Fontana: IQBio rotation (Fall 2022)
Taleen Mahseredjian: PhD student (2019-2020)
Ginny Wala: PhD student (2019)
Dr. Miquela Ingalls: Postdoctoral Researcher (2017-2018), now Assistant Professor, Penn State U

Former lab members (undergrad)

Nicolas Bell (B.S. Carleton College, expected 2023) - Undergraduate Researcher (Carleton College honors thesis)
Jim Gutoski (B.A. CU Boulder, 2021) - Undergraduate Researcher (starting as PhD student in 2022)
Drew Brown (B.A. CU Boulder, 2020) - Undergraduate Honors Thesis
Tyler Lincoln (B.A. CU Boulder, 2020) - Undergraduate Honors Thesis (returned as a PhD student in 2021)
Sarah Jamison-Todd (B.A. CU Boulder, 2019) - Undergraduate Honors Thesis
Sophia Bridgers (B.A. CU Boulder, 2020) - Undergraduate Researcher
Chris Benben (B.A. CU Boulder, 2019) - Undergraduate Honors Thesis
Pim Maydhisudhiwongs (B.A. CU Boulder, 2020) - Undergraduate Independent Study, Fall 2018
Andrew Chan (B.S. Caltech, 2021) - Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow 2018 at CU Boulder, coadvised by Miquela Ingalls and Katie Snell
Lydia Kivrak (B.S. Caltech, 2019) - Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow 2017
Anusha Sinha (B.S. Caltech, 2016) - summer internship 2015