ROBERT O. & VERA BLOOMER LECTURE in Geology
“International Ocean Discovery Program: Deciphering Ancient Ocean, Climate, and Sea-level Changes Using Marine Micro- fossils”
Mimi Katz ’81, ‘09
October 28th, 2022
Bloomer auditorium brown Hall
7:30 pm
Much of what we understand about ancient oceans and climates comes from information extracted from marine sediments. The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) is a collaboration of 21 nations that explores Earth's history and dynamics using ocean-going research platforms to recover data recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks. IODP has been instrumental in providing the framework that allows scientists to reconstruct how Earth system processes have driven and responded to ocean and climate perturbations through geologic time, which can yield insight about modern and potential future global changes. This talk will illustrate the importance of studying the geologic history of global change using examples of the speaker’s research from IODP expeditions. Her research utilizes single-celled microfossils that lived on the seafloor, called benthic foraminifera, to provide the basis for a range of ocean, climate, and sea-level reconstructions.
Undergraduate course experiences often engender lifelong interests with careers built upon them. Such an interest was generated when Mimi Katz first saw the beauty of single-celled Foraminiferida fossils during a Micropaleontology class here at SLU launching a remarkable career of micropaleontological discovery. Dr. Katz was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from St. Lawrence (2009) for her contributions to paleoclimate studies using microfossils.
Dr. Mimi Katz ’81, ‘09
Dr. Miriam (Mimi) Katz recently retired from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and now holds visiting research professor positions at Rutgers University and Union College. With degrees from St. Lawrence Univ. (B.S.), Univ. of South Carolina (M.S.), and Rutgers Univ. (Ph.D.), she worked at Columbia University and Rutgers University for 25 years prior to joining the RPI faculty in 2007. Mimi’s research focuses on reconstructing changes in ocean circulation, marine environments, sea level, and climate through time. She studies marine microfossils, geochemistry, sedimentology, and seismic stratigraphy to do these reconstructions, which encompass normal climate and ocean variability through geologic time, long-term sea-level change, and rapid, extreme climate events and climate transitions. Mimi has participated in seven marine research cruises.
Her awards and honors include: Shepard Medal for Marine Geology (2020); Fellow of the Geological Society of America; W. Storrs Cole Award for Micropaleontology (2014); Ocean Leadership Distinguished Lecturer (2012-2013); Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science (St. Lawrence University, 2009); and Doris M. Curtis Outstanding Woman in Science Award (2002).
In addition to her outreach efforts (secondary schools, science teacher workshops, community groups), Mimi is/was on the Board of Directors of the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research, North American Micropaleontology Section of SEPM, and Geologic TimeScale Foundation.