Emily Finzel

Emily Finzel serves as Professor and Departmental Executive Officer in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iowa's College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Her research integrates sedimentologic, geochemical, and tectonic analyses to decipher basin evolution across diverse geological settings worldwide.

Education:

• PhD, Purdue University
• MS, University of Alaska
• BS, University of Wisconsin

Professor Finzel specializes in reconstructing paleoenvironments through sedimentary processes, employing detrital geochronology (U-Pb and Hf isotopes), mudstone geochemistry (rare earth elements), and provenance analyses. Her fieldwork spans Alaskan forearc/backarc basins, Montana's Cordilleran foreland basin, Midcontinent Paleozoic cratonic basins, Italy's Miocene Apennine basin, and Argentina's Cretaceous Neuquén basin. Recent research investigates marginal marine mudstone geochemical proxies as environmental indicators, bridging sedimentary geology with planetary surface processes.

Awards and Honors:

• UI OVPR Innovation in Safety Award, 2022
• Collegiate Teaching Award, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Iowa, 2022
• UI OVPR Excellence in Safety Award, 2021
• Office of the Provost Investment in Strategic Priorities Award, 2021

As Departmental Executive Officer, Finzel mentors graduate and undergraduate students while leading research initiatives funded through strategic university awards. Her safety-focused laboratory practices have earned multiple institutional recognitions. She directs the Iowa Tectonics & Basin Analysis Lab, advancing methodologies in basin evolution studies through integrated field and analytical approaches.

Her research directly supports the department's focus on Water, Soil and Surface Processes; Natural Resources and Sustainability; and Tectonics, Solid Earth and Planetary Geology, with applications in environmental reconstruction and resource management.