Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

Zachary Garvin '17

Microbiology, Immunology
Research Mentor Yongsong Huang

Biography

Garvin will quantify the rate at which a microbe produces so-called “GDGT lipids”, temperature-indicative organic molecules that are found in geological samples from diverse time periods and environments. This summer, he will isolate GDGTs from diverse soil samples and use stable isotope probing to test whether temperature estimates are accurately representative of the expected time period. Ultimately, knowing the rate at which GDGTs are produced will permit higher-precision paleotemperature estimates by understanding how rapidly the lipids are replaced in the environment.