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 Associate Professor of Geosciences Associate Head of Graduate Programs and Research 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. |
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. |
Zach Loveall
Graduate student PhD, Penn State, in progress BS, University of Michigan, 2025 Zach is interested in how geochemical processes shape the preservation and interpretation of Earth’s climatic history. His research focuses on microbial and abiotic carbonate facies, with an emphasis on understanding the role of microorganisms in carbonate formation and early diagenesis. Zach studies periods of global climate change during the Cenozoic to develop and refine geochemical tools that can improve our understanding of Earth’s response to rapid warming. He is currently working on carbonate clumped and triple oxygen isotope proxies. He is additionally interested in how microbial life influences Earth’s climate through the consumption and production of atmospheric gases. Outside of the lab, Zach can be found hiking, watching movies, or reading to his cat. |
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Christian Lundy
Graduate student PhD, Penn State, in progress BS, Hope College, 2022 Christian is interested in the transport of nutrients and contaminants in natural water systems and in water-rock interactions in shallow coastal systems. He is currently working on characterizing phosphorus transport and stabilization from a shallow wastewater injection system in a Florida Keys, USA carbonate aquifer to better understand how anthropogenic nutrient sinks may mobilize under changing conditions. He uses a combination of field and laboratory techniques, including X-Ray Absorption Fine Structures (XAFS) at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL). Outside of research, he enjoys singing in a community choir and spending time with his two cats, Dottie and Stella. Current CV. |
Dr. Ellen Olsen
Postdoc and Lab Manager PhD, University of Oregon, 2023 BS, Western Washington University, 2015 |
Former lab mates
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Cole J. Stern
Exploration Geologist, Cameco MS, Geosciences, Penn State, 2026 BS, Geology, Weber State University, 2023 MFA, Dramaturgy, Columbia University, 2020 BA, Theater, Folklore, Denison University, 2017 |
Amanda Urist
Hydrogeologist, Suffolk County Department of Health Services BS and MS, Penn State, 2025 |
Dr. Hanna Leapaldt
AGU Congressional Fellow PhD, Penn State, 2026 NASA FINESST fellow MS, Penn State, 2022 BS, University of Minnesota (Duluth), 2019 |
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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 |
Dr. Allie Wyman
postdoc 2021-22 PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2021 MS, Western Michigan University, 2014 BS, Western Michigan University, 2012 |
Kate Meyers
now EPA MS, Penn State, 2023 BA, Franklin & Marshall College, 2019 |
Megan Martin
Graduate student
MEd, Penn State, 2023
BS, Michigan State University, 2015
Graduate student
MEd, Penn State, 2023
BS, Michigan State University, 2015
