The Summons Lab bids farewell to several talented and valuable lab members!
Dr. Ross Williams has been a PhD researcher in Roger’s lab for the last 5 years. Ross recently received his PhD degree in Geochemistry at MIT. His research focus has been on paleoenvironment reconstruction in extreme climates ranging from Early Cenozoic lignite deposits in India to modern day high elevation lakes of the Chilean Altiplano. Ross has recently accepted a Postdoctoral position through the Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science & Technology (CRESST) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. There he will work on supporting the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Ross has also recently welcomed a new family member into the world, his adorable son Hendrick Ross Williams. Ross, Hendrick, and his beautiful wife Christina are looking forward to the next chapter of their lives in Maryland. Ross has been a dedicated and valued colleague and friend, and he will be greatly missed by all!
Dr. Shane O’Reilly is a Postdoctoral Fellow who has been in Roger’s lab since 2014. Shane has received a competitive Marie Curie fellowship with a joint appointment with the University College in Dublin, where he will continue his research fellowship for an additional year after his tenure at MIT. Shane’s research involves the use of lipids and next generation sequencing approaches to study microbial communities associated with marine and terrestrial carbonate deposits and the fossil lipids that can be preserved within these carbonate over geologic time. These include ooids, tufa and pisoids. Shane has also been involved in a number of projects studying exceptional preservation of organic molecules in vertebrate fossils, including Messel birds and mammoth bones. He also contributed to astrobiology projects relating to the analog experiments to understand the Curiosity Rover’s detection of organic molecules on Mars. Shane has been an outstanding colleague and friend to all members of the Summons lab, and will be greatly missed!
Yongli Zhou is an undergraduate researcher from University of Science and Technology of China who has been in the Summons laboratory for a 3 month summer internship. Yongi has been a highly motivated and productive student, and his research has focused on characterizing fossilized plant lipids at an ancient site in Africa, and preserved functionalized lipids in mammoth bone fossils. Yongli will be considering graduate school opportunities in the future, and will have a bright and promising future in research. All members of the Summons lab have greatly enjoyed having Yongli in the lab during his visit, and he will be missed!
