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Dr. Ben Johnson
he/him/his Assistant Professor NSF Postdoc, University of Colorado Boulder: 2017-2019 PhD, University of Victoria: 2012 MS, University of Utah: 2009 BS, University of Puget Sound: 2006 Ben is a geologist and geochemist with broad interests that span Earth History and Earth System Science. He uses a variety of rock archives, including chemical sediments, glacial tills, and igneous rocks as records of the interactions between life, the oceans, the atmosphere, and the solid Earth over deep time. He uses field work, analytical and isotope geochemistry, and numerical modeling to investigate deep time questions about Earth history. He is also interested in astrobiology and planetary science! . Click here to visit my Google Scholar page. Click here to visit my Research Gate profile. Click here for my CV. 
John Herring
He/him/his PhD student John graduated from Purdue University in May 2023 with a double B.S. in Geology and Geophysics and Planetary Science, and is starting out as a first-year Ph.D. student under Dr. Ben Johnson at ISU. John is interested in using theoretical and computational tools in biogeochemistry and geobiology to investigate topics in deep-time Earth history, Earth systems theory, and planetary science (especially in comparative planetology and astrobiology). At ISU, Johnwill work with Ben to better resolve the oxygen isotope record of continental emergence, and ultimately to build on the EarthN macroscale biogeochemical nitrogen model by including the oxygen cycle, isotope fractionation, and other geochemical processes to gain insight into the feedbacks between life and Earth. John is also a teaching assistant for the class Geology for Engineers and Environmental Scientists (GEOL 201) for Fall 2023. |
Samuel Duncanson
He/him/his PhD candidate Sam received his B.S. in Geology from the University of St. Thomas and a M.Sc. in Geological Sciences from the University of Minnesota Duluth. While at UMD, Sam studied mineralogy in ~1.9 Ga iron formation to constrain Paleoproterozoic seawater chemistry. At ISU, he will continue sedimentology and geochemistry research with Dr. Ben Johnson, focusing on Nitrogen cycling and redox conditions during periods of glacial activity throughout Earth History. 
Alexandra Grajales
she/her/hers PhD candidate Alex received her B.S. degree in Geology and Minor in Science Education from the University of Puerto Rico- Mayaguez Campus in 2021. Her interests in geology involve studying the evolution of the Earth’s surface and atmospheric conditions through the geologic time record using fossils. She is currently starting her M.S. in geological sciences with Dr. Ben Johnson. Her research involves studying nitrogen isotopes in fossilized plant matter from the Phanerozoic era as well as modern plants to retrieve atmospheric nitrogen level fluctuations throughout Earths History. Alex is the teaching assistant for Introduction to Geology for Engineering and Environmental Sciences (GEOL 201) during the fall semester. |
Former members
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Dana Mineart, MS, 2021-2023
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Kate Preibish, undergraduate researcher (2021-2023)
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Justin Glenn, undergraduate researcher
(2021) |
Ben Boesen, undergraduate researcher (2020-2021)
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Haley Bix, undergraduate researcher
(Spring 2021) |
Emily Meinert, undergraduate researcher
(Fall 2020) |