Freya Morris

Hailing from the rocky coasts and evergreen forests of Maine, I began my higher education at Lafayette College – completing BS degrees in both geology and physics with the class of 2017. From there I pursued my Masters and PhD in geology at Caltech, advised by John Grotzinger, finishing in 2023. I have long been interested in becoming a professor at a small liberal arts college like my own alma mater and am excited to have joined the Whitman College faculty for the 2023-2024 academic year.

My research experience and interests revolve around using field-based sedimentology, stratigraphy, and structural geology to reconstruct paleoenvironments and basin evolution to refine our understanding of climate, sea level, tectonics, and the evolution of life through Earth history. Coupled with my field work I have used various geochemical methods to provide temporal constraints and glacial isostatic adjustment modeling to test viable sea level histories for intervals of deglaciation. My PhD thesis work involved using these techniques to study the basal-Ediacaran cap carbonate and associated deposits of the Marinoan ‘Snowball Earth’ found in the Naukluft Mountains of Namibia. Other research expeditions have included working with Cretaceous paleontologists in Montana, modern analog studies of carbonate marine systems in the Turks and Caicos, and investigations of upper Cambrian carbonates in eastern Pennsylvania.

Teaching at a college like Whitman I am invested in developing effective instruction and mentoring both in and outside the classroom. In particular, I intend to leverage my extensive field experience to create field experiences for students that are appropriately accessible and rigorous with special emphasis on developing their observational skills and appreciation for expansive geologic context.