Ayla Pamukçu in Tanzania

Ayla Pamukçu joined the geological sciences department as an assistant professor in fall 2019. Her work involves observations and data spanning a range of scales and perspectives, from the field to tiny crystals. She loves bringing this multifaceted information together to unlock the history of volcanoes. She also finds the co-existence of humans with nature inspiring.

Professor Pamukçu is excited to learn more about how people in Tanzania have learned to live in the shadow of natural threats and the approaches they have developed to use the natural resources around them in positive ways. Tanzania’s geologic history, particularly its volcanism and magmatism, is fascinating and dates to some of the earliest eons on Earth. In her lectures, Professor Pamukçu will discuss the volcanic history of Kilimanjaro and the East African Rift; volcano-human interactions in the East African Rift; and the history of Early Earth in Tanzania.

• PhD, Vanderbilt University, Environmental Engineering, 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

• Fulbright Scholar (Turkey), 2006