Ayla Pamukçu in Sicily

Ayla Pamukçu joined the Stanford faculty in 2019. She conducts research involving observations and data spanning a range of scales and perspectives, from geology in the field to observations of microscopic crystals in the lab. She loves bringing this multifaceted information together to unlock the history of volcanoes. After graduating from the University of Chicago, studied geophysical sciences and Near Eastern languages and civilizations as an undergraduate, Professor Pamukçu spent a year in Turkey as a Fulbright Scholar exploring geoarchaeology. She then went on to receive her masters and doctoral degrees at Vanderbilt University, where she studied the conditions and lives of magmas that produce enormous supereruptions. She then held several postdoc positions (Brown, Princeton, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), during which she expanded her research.

Throughout our journey, Professor Pamukçu will bring Sicily’s volcanic landscape to life through lectures exploring Italy's tectonic history and active volcanism. Learn how communities have adapted to living with natural hazards, and discover the compelling relationships between the region’s geology, culture, and built environment—especially vivid in the dramatic Aeolian Islands.

• Assistant Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences

• Assistant Professor (by courtesy), Geophysics

• Numerous honors and awards, including the Curriculum Transformation Fellow (2023–2025) and the Gabilan Faculty Fellow (2021–2023) 

• PhD, Vanderbilt University, Environmental Engineering (Earth and Environmental Sciences option) (2014)

• MS, Vanderbilt University, Earth and Environmental Sciences (2010)

• BS, University of Chicago, Geophysical Sciences (2006)

• Minor, University of Chicago, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (2006)