1.    What sparked your interest in geology as an undergrad?

-Lisa knew she liked Environmental Science but found out during her college Environmental Institute entrance interview at Albion College that Environmental Science wasn't offered as a major.  She noticed the funny, engaging professor conducting her interview had "Geology Department" listed on their name tag.  She decided to declare her major as Geology at the conclusion of the interview even though she didn't know much about it. The haphazard selection of geology ended up being a fulfilling one. 

2.    What motivated you to go on to graduate school?

-After graduating from Albion College Lisa knew that she wanted to teach college students and share her passion for geology and understanding of earth systems and processes with others.  She adored her geology professors and wanted to be able to influence others like them. 

3.    What research were you interested in during graduate school?

- Lisa researched climate change -specifically the melting history of the Greenland Ice Sheet during a climate period (125,000 years ago) that was warmer than present.  Spoiler alert, the Greenland Ice Sheet was smaller then than it is today.

4.    What is your teaching history?

-She is an equal-opportunity geology instructor.  She has taught at five UW institutions over the past 10 years (UW-Madison, UW-Fox Valley, UW-Marathon County, UW-Marshfield, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Online, and most recently UW-Stevens Point). Most of her teaching experience has been with introductory geology and geography classes.  She teaches online and in person, however she has a preference for the personal connection and hands-on opportunities that face-to-face teaching provides.  She also enjoys the flexibility of online education.

5.    Do you have any peer reviewed articles that have been published?

-Lisa has one publication – a first author paper in Science.  It went big and them home.

Colville, E., A.E. Carlson, B.L. Beard, R.G. Hatfield, J.S. Stoner, A.V. Reyes, D.J. Ullman, Sr-Nd-Pb isotope evidence for ice-sheet presence on southern Greenland during the last interglacial, Science, v. 333, p. 620-623.

6.    What are some of your hobbies and highlights on home life.

-Lisa enjoys hiking, cooking, swimming, and spending time with her family which includes her husband, daughter, dog.  They are also expecting a baby boy around March.

Fun fact about Lisa: her first name is not actually Lisa.