Hi Penn!

Hi all!

I am extremely excited to be the latest addition to Prof. Plante’s lab (and thrilled about the new Netzsch autosampler); we have been planning this collaboration since first meeting at AGU (American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting) in 2013. At that time, I was a Ph.D. candidate Tulane University with Prof. Brad Rosenheim. My research focused on using thermal analyses and coupled radiocarbon and isotopic analyses to characterize organic matter stability in coastal soils and sedimentary deposits. After completing my Ph.D. the following year, I began a postdoctoral research position at the University of California – Merced with Prof. Marilyn Fogel. My research grew to focus on using hydrogen and carbon isotopes to trace inputs and subsequent storage of organic matter in forest soils, characterize dynamics of physical and chemical stabilization, as well as address the potential of soil organic matter in recording climate (precipitation) signals. Now, finally, as a postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania through a fellowship from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, I am excited to continue researching mechanisms controlling organic matter stability and storage in soils, specifically, mineral interactions, effects of biochar/black carbon addition, and microbial impacts as well as improving our understanding of thermal analyses as they relate to particulate organic matter cycling.

~Liz Williams