Thure Cerling, University of Utah
Thure Cerling, a pioneer in using isotope records of hair, bones, and teeth and a leading expert in the evolution of modern landscapes, including modern mammals and their associated grassland ecologies. A distinguished professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah, Cerling studies Earth surface geochemistry processes and the geological record of ecological change. His lecture will discuss his research on how hair shows the isotope physiology and diets of modern mammals as well as the history of diets of different mammalian lineages extending over millions of years. He will also discuss how the composition of human hair reflects the region where a person lives.