Alex L. Sessions
Nico and Marilyn van Wingen Professor of Geobiology
Research Options
Research Areas
Profile
My research can be broadly described as isotopic biogeochemistry. Put another way, I am interested in the interaction of the biological and geological worlds, particularly in the organic materials that are so crucial to that interaction. Since the time of Charles Darwin, we have known that our physical environment helps to shape life through the process of evolution. More recently, we have come to understand that the guidance is reciprocal, and that biology also influences the evolution of the Earth (the oxygen we breath today is present only because of photosynthesis by plants). One of the goals of my research is to understand how this happens. Several specific projects are described following the links on your left.
I study the waxy, organic molecules that are produced by living organisms and eventually buried and preserved in sediments. Known generically as lipids, these molecules are the raw materials that eventually produce petroleum and natural gas, as well as record a rich history of life over the past ~3 billion years. Because they
... Read More
Publications
For a list of my most recent publications please see my research website.
Instructor: Sessions
Instructor: Sessions
Instructor: Sessions
Instructor: Sessions
Instructor: Sessions
Instructor: Sessions
Instructor: Sessions