Kristin Bergmann

Kristin Bergmann reconstructs the record of environmental changes on the early Earth through analysis of sedimentary formations. Her research group combines aspects of sedimentology, stratigraphy, geochemistry, and geobiology to better understand the connections between the Earth’s environment and the organisms that inhabit it. Current work is focused on interpreting the record of marine carbonate sedimentary rocks and fossils. These rocks are analyzed using a variety of tools in order to better understand how the chemistry and climate of the oceans and atmosphere affected the evolution of complex life, from unicellular microbial communities to multicellular animal communities. The Bergmann Lab attempts to place constraints on the environmental change that provides a backdrop for early evolution and quantify the range of climatic conditions the earth system is capable of.

Professor Bergmann joined the MIT faculty in 2015. She received a BA in geology and environmental studies from Carleton College in 2004, after which she spent three years teaching Earth and life sciences at The Pennington School in New Jersey. She pursued graduate studies at the California Institute of Technology, earning an MS (2011) and a PhD (2013) in geology. Before coming to MIT, Bergmann was a Junior Fellow with the Harvard Society of Fellows.