Curricula Vitae in School of Earth, Ocean & Env.

Name	Personal Focus	Summary
Dr. David Longfellow Barbeau, Jr. Associate Professor	biogeography, oceanography, the production & exploitation of petroleum, applications of sedimentary geology to forensic problems	My students and I study the sedimentary record, which we use to better understand the evolution of tectonic plates, mountain belts, ocean circulation, climate and biogeography. We use sediment provenance, magnetostratigraphy, basin analysis, geochronology & thermochronology to meet these challenges.
Monica P Barra Assistant Professor	Race Inequality, Environmental and Urban Anthropology, Science and Technology Studies	Monica Barra holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. Dr. Barra is an assistant professor in the area of Race and Environment at the School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment and Department of Anthropology and is a faculty affiliate in African American Studies.
Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson Professor	Chemical Oceanography/Marine Biogeochemistry, Radiochemistry, Climate Change	One of the leading questions that I am currently seeking to answer is "What are the processes that dominate natural and/or anthropogenically induced climate change." My present research focuses on understanding the biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus (P)in the ocean and what controls particle formation and organic carbon(C)fluxes from the surface ocean to the deep floor.
Dr. Michael Bizimis Professor	Combined Hf-Nd-Sr-Pb-Os isotope analyses and major/ trace element compositions of mantle xenoliths, Scales of mantle heterogeneity and mixing in the earths mantle, Plume-lithosphere interaction: The case from oceanic mantle xenoliths and lavas	Michael Bizimis is a Professor in the School of Earth, Ocean and Environment at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Bizimis carries out research in igneous petrology and mantle geochemistry, investigating mantle xenoliths and lavas and geochemical fluxes in subduction zones.
Professor Carol Boggs Professor	The physiological, ecological and evolutionary dynamics of resource allocation, Invasion dynamics, Ecology, evolution and genomics of small populations	We focus on evolutionary, functional and behavioral ecology, with applications to conservation and environmental issues. The major question is how environmental change and variation affect life history traits, population structure and dynamics, and species interactions over ecological and evolutionary time. Environments vary on multiple spatial and temporal scales. Additionally, both the abiotic and biotic components of the environment may vary, for example in cases of species' invasions.
Dr. Annie Bourbonnais, PhD Associate Professor	Marine biogeochemistry, Marine nitrogen cycle, Nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes	Annie Bourbonnais is an Assistant Professor in the Department of School of the Earth, Ocean & Environment, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Subrahmanyam Bulusu Professor	Satellite Oceanography , Physical Oceanography	Satellite Oceanography, in particular from both active and passive sensors to study ocean/atmosphere dynamics; model simulations using Miami Isopycnal Coordinate Ocean Model (MICOM), Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM), MIT Ocean General Circulation Model, bio-physical models.
Dr. Besim Dragovic Assistant Professor	Timescales of convergent tectonics, fluid-rock interaction in the crust/mantle, metamorphic petrology	Besim Dragovic is a geochronologist/metamorphic geochemist with research interests that broadly address: (i) the rates and durations of convergent tectonics, (ii) the role (and timescales, sources, nature) of fluid-rock interaction in the crust and mantle and ​(iii) determining the mechanisms for crustal formation and craton stabilization in the early Earth He studies the rock record and uses a variety of geochemical and petrologic techniques to explore these interests.
Daniel (Dan) Frost Assistant Professor		Dan Frost is an Assistant Professor in the Department of School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. David Ezekiel Fuente Associate Professor	Climate Change, Society, Policy & Environment, Water Resources & Hydrology	Dr. Fuente's research is situated at the intersection of infrastructure planning, environmental policy, and international development and focuses specifically on the provision of water and sanitaiton services in low- and middle-income countries. Trained as an environmental economist, urban planner, and environmental scientist, he has conducted extensive fieldwork in East Africa (Kenya), the Middle East (Egypt), and South Asia (India).
Dr. Dean Hardy Assistant Professor	Environmental Justice, Coastal Systems, Political Ecology	Dr. Hardy received his Ph.D. in Integrative Conservation and Geography from the University of Georgia in 2016. He held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Maryland’s NSF-funded National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center from 2016-2019. He received his M.S. in Ecology in 2009 and three B.S. degrees in Marine Sciences, Biology, and Ecology with a minor in Anthropology from the University of Georgia in 2003. He has been at USC since 2019 and is jointly appointed in SEOE and Geography.
Andrew Leier Associate Professor	Sedimentology, Basin analysis, Tectonics	Research interests: Clastic sedimentology, stratigraphy, sediment provenance, basin analysis, tectonics and sedimentation, stable isotopes, paleoelevation, paleoclimate, petroleum geology, reservoir architecture and characterization.
Erin Meyer-Gutbrod Assistant Professor		Erin L. Meyer-Gutbrod is an Assistant Professor in the Department of School of the Earth, Ocean & Environment, College of Arts and Sciences. Her research interests include: Population, Community and Ecosystem Dynamics, Anthropogenic Impacts on Marine Ecosystems, Demographic, Spatial, and Statistical Modeling, and Quantitative Approaches to Conservation Forecasting and Management
Xuefeng (Nick) Peng Assistant Professor	develop, apply, and integrate novel methods in microbial ecology and geochemistry to study	Xuefeng (Nick) Peng Specializes in the following: Biogeochemistry and Geochemistry, Climate Change, Coastal Processes, Earth Systems, Marine Ecology, Oceanography. He develops, applies, and integrates novel methods in microbial ecology and geochemistry to study these intricate relationships found in marine environments.
Isabel Romero Assistant Professor
Dr. Katherine Ryker Associate Professor	the role of inquiry-based labs in fostering scientific thinking, reformed and student-centered teaching practices, relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices	Geoscience education research; the role of inquiry-based labs in fostering scientific thinking; reformed and student-centered teaching practices; relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices; teacher professional development; augmented and virtual reality in geoscience education; student learning strategies and engagement in large introductory courses; online educational resources.
Dr. Raymond Torres Professor	intertidal zone hydrology and geomorphology, near-surface saturated and unsaturated zone hydrology, watershed management	I conduct field and lab work designed to investigate processes that control the production, transport, and storage of water and sediment in terrestrial and intertidal landscapes. My funded research projects are on intertidal zone hydrology and geomorphology, near-surface saturated and unsaturated zone hydrology, and watershed management.
Dr. Scott M White Professor	Geophysics, Earthquakes, Water	Scott White studies the geology and tectonics of the oceans and coasts to understand the Earth processes that form and shape the seafloor. Scott has worked on projects ranging from seafloor rifts in the Pacific to tidal creeks on the South Carolina coast,and participated in nearly 20 oceanographic cruises.
Professor Alicia Wilson Professor	Fluid flow and geologic processes, Coastal groundwater, Coastal ecosystems	Current projects include groundwater dynamics and ecohydrology in a salt marshes (North Inlet) and coastal islands (Sapelo Island), large-scale coastal flow systems, including the continental shelf (US Southeast Atlantic coastline, Gulf of Mexico), and brine migration in the Alberta Basin, Canada
Dr. Alexander Yankovsky Professor	Dynamics on continental shelves and in marginal seas, adjustment of shelf currents to the topographic and coastline features, wind- and buoyancy-driven currents	My primary research interest is the dynamics on continental shelves and in marginal seas. This includes wind- and buoyancy-driven currents, transient and time-variable processes, waves, wave-current interaction, mesoscale variability, adjustment of shelf currents to the topographic and coastline features. My research comprises a numerical modeling and the analysis of observational data, both in situ and remotely-sensed
Dr. Gene Yogodzinski Professor		My research combines geological field work with geochemical studies that focus primarily on the use of trace element and isotope geochemistry to understand igneous processes. I am particularly interested in understanding how the geochemistry of subduction-related magma is controlled by tectonics in different subduction settings.
Dr. Lori Anne Ziolkowski Associate Professor	Climate Change, Carbon cycle	My research focuses on the relationship between the composition and reactivity of organic matter in the earth system,as it relates to global biogeochemistry and climate change. Understanding the environmental dynamics of organic matter, both today and in the past, is essential for predicting future perturbations in the global carbon cycle. My current projects involve characterizing microbes in thawing Arctic permafrost and characterizing aromatic carbon, or combusted carbon, in the environment.