R. Lawrence Edwards

R. Lawrence Edwards serves as a Regents and Distinguished McKnight University Professor within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota. A leading isotope geochemist, Edwards pioneered uranium-thorium dating methods that revolutionized the study of climate history and ocean chemistry. His work has been pivotal in achieving a comprehensive calibration of the radiocarbon timescale and establishing speleothems as premier archives for paleoclimate reconstruction.

Central to Edwards' research is the application of uranium-thorium dating to cave deposits, enabling high-resolution climate records that span hundreds of thousands of years. He integrates these terrestrial records with marine and ice core data to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of climate variability, including abrupt events and glacial-interglacial transitions. His investigations into climate-culture linkages, particularly in East Asia, have demonstrated how monsoon dynamics influenced agricultural productivity and societal stability during the Holocene. Recent work focuses on anthropogenic climate signals in sub-annual cave records from the industrial era.

Edwards maintains an active research group that trains graduate students in geochronology and paleoclimatology, currently welcoming new doctoral candidates. His scientific impact is reflected in his status as one of the most highly cited researchers in Earth Sciences, with recognition through distinguished professorial appointments that honor his transformative contributions to understanding Earth's climate system.