Jane Kathryn Willenbring

Jane Kathryn Willenbring is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Stanford University, with a courtesy appointment in Earth System Science. She joined Stanford in 2020 after previous roles as an Associate Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on Earth surface processes, integrating geochemistry, field observations, and numerical modeling to understand landscape evolution driven by tectonics, climate, and vegetation interactions. She is a leading expert in cosmogenic nuclide techniques and advocates for citizen science to address environmental challenges like urban pollution and agricultural contamination.

• Education: B.Sc. (North Dakota State University), M.Sc. (Boston University), Ph.D. (Dalhousie University)
• Postdoc: Saint Anthony Falls Lab, University of Minnesota; GFZ Potsdam, Germany

Research interests include:

• Quantifying erosion and weathering rates using cosmogenic isotopes
• Vegetation-topography feedbacks in tropical montane regions
• Environmental justice through geoscience education and community engagement
• Bioremediation of asbestos-contaminated sites

Publications highlight her work on coastal cliff retreat, soil soundscapes, and Andean tectonics. Awards include the Marguerite T. Williams Award (AGU) and Gabilan Faculty Fellow (Stanford). She advises graduate students and postdocs on topics ranging from landscape evolution to anti-racism in academia. Her lab previously directed the Scripps Cosmogenic Isotope Lab and now contributes to Stanford’s geoscience initiatives.