I trained as a marine scientist at the University of San Diego (B.A. and M.S. Marine Science) and The Australian National University, obtaining a PhD in isotope geochemistry in 2001. I then went to the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to learn radiocarbon preparation and measurements using AMS. In 2004 I moved to the Chemistry, Biology and Nuclear Science Division at LLNL and developed isotopic measurements and maps using the CAMECA nanoSIMS. In 2006 I returned to Australia to take up a research Fellow position as the head of the newly refurbished Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory at the Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University. Since 2010 I have been a Fellow at the Research School of Earth Sciences. My research interests include radiocarbon dating, using radiocarbon as a tracer for the carbon cycle, developing proxy records of marine environment using trace element and isotopic records from biogenic archives and examining past environmental change to help understand our future climate.

Experience

2020 – present –  Professor and Head of the Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University

2010 – present –  Senior Fellow and Head of the Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University

2007-2010 –  Research Fellow and Head of the Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University

2004-2006 – Environmental Chemist, Chemical Biology and Nuclear Science

Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

2001-2004 - Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory