About

Roger N. Bryant -Assistant Prof. in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University

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I research life and environments – past and present.

My primary interest is the coupled evolution of life and environmental conditions through the last several billion years of Earth’s history. Sulfur is my favorite element for studying environmental conditions but I’m constantly working on mapping out new biogeochemical systematics.

My journey into research started when I was an Earth Science undergrad at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, from 2010-2014. I then did my PhD in geochemistry with David Fike (EPS, Wash U, USA) – find my thesis here. From 2019-2022, I was a postdoctoral scholar in geochemistry with Clara Blättler (DoGS, U Chicago, USA), with whom I worked on the stable isotope and trace element chemistry of marine carbonates of all ages. In January 2023, I started as an Assistant Professor in EAPS at Purdue University. When my lab is constructed, we will use geochemistry to study the origins and evolution of life.

Click here to see some future projects my lab will be undertaking.

Although much of my work is lab-based, field work is also an important part of my work – particularly when hunting for rocks that can yield clues about some of the earliest steps in the history of life on Earth, e.g., below in Karelia, Russia, July 2019, with Aivo Lepland, Ann Bauer, Timmu Kreitsmann, Tony Prave and Kalle Kirsimae. Photo by Kärt Paiste.