Elizabeth Niespolo, Assistant Professor of Geosciences
Research Summary: Niespolo combines field work with applications in isotope geochemistry to anchor climatic, fossil, and archaeological records to precise timescales and in relation to environmental changes. The “tool kit” of her group emphasizes radioisotopic dating with additional activities in light stable isotope geochemistry, petrology, field geology, and archaeological excavation. A major focus of her research addresses outstanding questions on the timing and tempo of human evolution, including the development of modern human behaviors and the timing of global-scale human colonization. Other research foci include using petrology and isotopes to understand paleoenvironments, crustal processes, development of new isotopic applications, and in situ measurements to investigate geochemical heterogeneity in natural materials. Niespolo is setting up a laser ablation ICP-MS and U-series geochronology laboratory at Princeton.
Elizabeth Niespolo
Assistant Professor of Geosciences
Biography: Elizabeth Niespolo is an Assistant Professor in Geosciences. She is also Associated Faculty of the High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI), a member of the Executive Committee for the Certificate in Archaeology program (Art & Archaeology), and is a Research Associate with the Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI) based at the University of Cape Town (South Africa). Elizabeth completed her undergraduate study (2009) at the University of California Berkeley with a double major in Astrophysics and Classics. After traveling for field work, and teaching, she returned to school to complete a M.S. (2014) in Geology at California State University Long Beach and a Ph.D. (2019) in Earth & Planetary Science at Berkeley. She is from Oakland, California
Related News:
Discarded ostrich shells provide timeline for our early African ancestors, The Leakey Foundation (2021)
How a geochronologist learns to “read rocks,” The Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) (2020)
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More recent articles
An exploratory project to investigate the benefits of farming seaweed in the open ocean has been selected for funding from Princeton’s Dean for Research Innovation Fund for the Sustainability of Our Planet…
As climate change progresses, reports show it makes hurricanes more destructive and intense. Gabriel Vecchi, a geoscience professor, director of The High Meadows Environmental Institute and deputy director of the Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System at Princeton University, joins "CBS News Mornings" to detail how…
It took less than 3 hours for Hurricane Ian to strengthen from a Category 3 to a Category 4 and was almost a Cat 5 when it made landfall and scientists are warning storms are going to become more frequent and more intense in the years to come. The question is why? Professor of geosciences…
Hurricane Ian and Typhoon Noru strengthened quickly before landfall. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Princeton University professor Gabriel Vecchi about climate-fueled intensification. (4-Minute Listen)
AccuWeather's Climate Central speak with Princeton climate scientist Prof. Gabe Vecchi, and other climate experts, about warmer oceans that led to more tropical systems that rapidly intensity and cause more damage along America's coastline.