Meet Our Team
Current members and friends of the Ingalls lab.
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Dr. Miquela Ingalls
Wilson Faculty Fellow in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Assistant Professor of Geosciences Graduate Faculty in the Biogeochemistry + Astrobiology Dual-title Programs Barr Postdoctoral Fellow, Caltech, 2018-2020 Postdoc, CU-Boulder, 2017-2018 PhD, University of Chicago, 2017 BS, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2011 Miquela works in modern and ancient environments to better understand how chemical sediments archive Earth history information using field geology, petrography, and stable isotope geochemistry. She uses tools that investigate post-depositional processes from in situ microbial metabolism to burial diagenesis. Miquela also develops novel geochemical proxies for the conditions under which life evolved on early Earth and other planets. Outside of lab, Miquela can be found running all day in Rothrock with her dog, Poppy, or eating tacos. CV here. |
Hanna Leapaldt
NASA FINESST fellow PhD, Penn State, in progress MS, Penn State, 2022 BS, University of Minnesota (Duluth), 2019 I work on characterizing microbial carbonate facies petrographically and geochemically. I am interested in better understanding microorganisms' role in early diagenesis of carbonate, contributing to the development of carbonate biosignatures, and constraining changes in microbial carbon cycling and metabolisms throughout Earth history. I mainly work on microbial carbonates in small alkaline lake settings. I focus on these lakes both for their role in creating the terrestrial carbonate record and because of the potential analog environment they serve for the evolution of early life on Earth and the deposition of carbonate on Mars. When not on the lake for research, you can find me floating, boating, or boarding on the lake. |
Ran He
Graduate student PhD, Penn State, in progress BS, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), 2020 Ran is interested in the controls on the stable isotope geochemistry of iron carbonates, which were particularly common during global warm periods such as the PETM and Eocene hyper thermals. Ran combines detailed sedimentological and petrographic analyses with field geology and high-temperature experiments to investigate the clumped isotope behavior of siderite. |
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Cole J. Stern
University Graduate Fellow PhD, Penn State, current BS, Geology, Weber State University, 2023 MFA, Dramaturgy, Columbia University, 2020 BA, Theater, Folklore, Denison University, 2017 Cole is interested in the structural changes to calcite caused by trace elements. He is currently focused on how phosphorus is entombed in calcite, standardizing the identification of trace P on various instruments, and the relationship between aqueous P and weathering in natural systems. This work has implications for higher resolution models of phosphorous in early Earth history and the sequestration of phosphate in modern systems. When not in the lab Cole partakes in dramaturgy, attending dance, reading, weightlifting, and constructing small plastic models of science fiction armies. |
Amanda Urist
Dual BS-MS, Bunton-Waller Scholar BS and MS, Penn State, in progress Amanda’s interested in the phosphate record preserved in carbonates through the GOE to the Neoproterozoic. She uses carbonate associated phosphate as a proxy for paleoenvironment to determine when phosphorus enriched seawater supported productivity of life. She also studies how diagenesis alters geochemical signatures in carbonates to better understand influences on their formation and changes in ocean chemistry during a critical period for the development of life. Outside of the lab you can find her reading, drinking coffee, or climbing. |
Dr. Ellen Olsen
Postdoc and Lab Manager PhD, University of Oregon, 2023 BS, Western Washington University, 2015 |
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Emily Stoller
Undergraduate student BS, Penn State, in progress Emily is passionate about environmental conservation and the policy implementation involved in the fight for climate justice. She is especially interested in analyzing the effects of human practices on the environment and understanding how chemical and physical aspects of ecosystems work to promote life. In her free time, Emily enjoys singing in the Penn State Concert Choir, hiking gat Shavers Creek, and skiing! |
Riley Foster
Undergraduate student BS, Penn State, in progress Riley is interested in characterizing carbonate-forming microbial communities through bioherm cores and recognizing biological influences on the rock record to better inform environmental interpretations. He enjoys hiking, art and collecting an endless number of new hobbies. |
Dr. Anna Waldeck
Agouron Institute Postdoctoral Fellow ISEN Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University, 2021-23 PhD, Harvard University, 2021 BS, The University of Chicago, 2014 CV Anna uses novel stable isotope tools to understand climate- and geobiology-related processes that shape our world. During her PhD, she generated triple oxygen isotope records of sulfate minerals to track atmospheric pO2 across the last 550 million years. At Northwestern, she measured calcium and strontium isotopes across Cretaceous Ocean Anoxic Events to understand marine responses in a high-pCO2 world. At Penn State, Anna’s research focuses on applying stable isotopes to understand carbonate mineral formation in modern Green Lake. Working in a modern setting allows her to test hypotheses about ancient Earth. Outside of research, Anna enjoys exploring outdoors and trying new foods. |
Emma Enos
Undergraduate student
BS, Penn State, in progress
Undergraduate student
BS, Penn State, in progress
Former lab mates
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Megan Martin
Graduate student MEd, Penn State, in progress BS, Michigan State University, 2015 Megan worked on microbial nitrogen transformations in the carbonate karst subsurface of the FL Keys with an application to wastewater remediation. |
Dr. Allie Wyman
postdoc 2021-22 PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2021 MS, Western Michigan University, 2014 BS, Western Michigan University, 2012 Allie uses lake sediments to reconstruct environmental and climatic changes over the last millennium. She employs a multi-proxy approach, using sediment minerology, carbonate stable isotopes, and lipid biomarkers to develop a comprehensive understanding of how lake systems change through time. Allie is also very interested in using proxy system modeling to better understand how proxies record environmental data. CV here. |
Kate Meyers
now EPA MS, Penn State, 2023 BA, Franklin & Marshall College, 2019 Originally from South Florida, Kate is returning to a familiar landscape to study groundwater nutrient fluxes in the Florida Keys. She is particularly interested in understanding the variables that impact adsorption of wastewater-derived phosphorus to the Key Largo Limestone. Kate is excited to blend techniques from biogeochemistry and hydrogeology to inform future wastewater management practices in carbonate aquifers. Outside of the lab, she is frequently found rock climbing, mountain biking, or home brewing! |