Title: Environments of human evolution in Africa: Some isotopic answers to intriguing, improbable, and (at times) impossible questions
Speaker: Thure Cerling
Abstract: Naturally occurring stable isotopes vary according to climate, ecology, migration, and other aspects of the environment.  In this lecture I will discuss how isotopes have informed us about the environments in which early humans evolved, including aspects of not only their physical environment, but their diets as well.

Thure Cerling is a distinguished professor of geology & geophysics and distinguished professor of biology at the University of Utah. He uses chemical isotopes to understand geological and ecological processes, and applies that knowledge to interpret ancient and modern ecological and climatology records, to study wildlife and to understand the evolution of landscapes. He is the recipient of multiple awards and honors, including the Émile Argand Medal of the International Union of Geological Sciences, and was elected to the U.S. National Academies of Science in 2001. He holds a B.S. in chemistry and geology and M.S. in geology from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of California Berkeley.