Very generally, I am interested in the relationship between landscape evolution and environmental changes in the geological record, seen through the lens of fossil plants. In the past, I worked with plant macrofossils (fossils you don't need a microscope to see, e.g., flowers, fruits, leaves) to study the impact of the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event on terrestrial ecosystems in South America. I am currently interested in learning about what information can be sourced from the plant microfossil (e.g. pollen, phytoliths) record in the Colombian Andes to understand how mountain uplift and its associated climatic and environmental consequences have shaped plant communities in the geological record.
I am originally from Bogotá, Colombia, where I grew up and got my undergraduate degree at the Universidad de Los Andes in Geosciences. I knew I wanted to be a paleontologist from early on in the program, and after exploring the study of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, I fell in love with plants and their fossil record after watching The Private Life of Plants. Following a year's work mapping the fossiliferous area of La Venta in Colombia, I went on to pursue a Masters in Geosciences at Penn State in Dr. Peter Wilf's paleobotany lab in the Patagonia Paleofloras project. I am now part of the Stromberg lab, where I will pursue my Ph.D. exploring the paleobotanical record of my home country.