Chad L Yost

Chad Yost serves as Assistant Professor of Environmental Geosciences within the Department of Earth & Environmental Systems at Indiana State University's College of Arts & Sciences, conducting interdisciplinary research at the intersection of paleoecology, archaeology, and climate science across Africa and the Americas.

His academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Geosciences from University of Arizona (2019)
• M.S. in Geography from Saint Cloud State University (2007)
• B.S. in Biology from University of Minnesota (1995)

Dr. Yost specializes in phytolith and microcharcoal analysis to reconstruct paleoenvironments on subdecadal to millennial scales, with particular expertise in wild rice ecosystems, savanna dynamics, and archaeological microfossil identification. His methodological innovations span:

• High-resolution sediment core analysis from East African lakes
• Wild rice (Zizania palustris) paleoecology in collaboration with Anishinaabe tribes
• Microfossil extraction from dental calculus and pottery

Recent publications (2021-2025) reveal consistent focus on orbital-scale climate impacts in Africa and North American archaeobotany, demonstrating how phytolith records illuminate human-environment interactions during critical evolutionary periods and agricultural transitions.

His scientific recognition includes:

• Career Center Class of 2024 First Destination Survey Award
• Professing Excellence and Inspiring Instruction Award

Dr. Yost actively mentors through the Earth Science Club and secures substantial research funding, including:

• $50,000 IODP grant for East African aridity reconstruction (2025)
• $32,000 University of Colorado grant for Mesoamerican socio-environmental analysis (2023)
• $13,297 US Army Corps of Engineers grant for wild rice population studies (2021)

He collaborates internationally on NSF-funded drilling projects in Kenya's Turkana Basin and Tanzania's Lake Tanganyika, while maintaining long-term tribal partnerships for wild rice restoration research in the Great Lakes region.