University of Wyoming Scholar Honored by the Geological Society of America

Kimberley Lau, an assistant professor in the department of geology and geophysics at the University of Wyoming, was selected to receive the 2019 Doris M. Curtis Outstanding Woman in Science Award from the Geological Society of America. The award is named for the first woman president of the society, who became the 103rd leader of the society in 1991.

Dr. Lau joined the faculty at the University of Wyoming in 2018. She specializes in biogeochemistry, and her research focuses on investigating the causes of environmental changes in Earth’s history. Dr. Lau is particularly interested in the links between the biogeochemical cycles of oxygen, carbon and redox-sensitive elements. Using geochemical clues in marine sediment, she reconstructs past environmental conditions.

In accepting the award, Dr. Lau stated that “I have been lucky to have had very supportive and encouraging mentors and collaborators, in the spirit of GSA and the namesake of this award. Using the rock record to understand how and, more importantly, why our planet’s environments have evolved through time is very exciting to me, and I hope I can continue pursuing these research questions.”

Dr. Lau is a graduate of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. She earned a Ph.D. at Stanford University in California and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Riverside.