Kathleen Wendt

Kathleen Wendt serves as an Assistant Professor (Senior Research) at Oregon State University's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS). Her research integrates cave formations and polar ice cores to reconstruct Earth's climate history, with specialization in high-precision uranium-series dating techniques.

• Ph.D. in Earth Sciences (Paleoclimate focus), University of Innsbruck (2015-2018)
• M.S. in Earth Sciences (Isotope Geochemistry focus), University of Minnesota (2013-2015)
• B.S. in Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Summa cum laude (2008-2013)

Research Focus: Dr. Wendt investigates abrupt climate changes through innovative analysis of ice core bubbles and speleothem records. Her work spans multiple timescales from decadal CO₂ fluctuations during Heinrich Stadials to million-year hydroclimate patterns in the American Southwest. Current projects examine Pacific Northwest winter variability using Oregon Caves formations, abrupt CO₂ rises in Antarctic ice cores, and 700,000 years of Southwest US hydroclimate history from Devils Hole cave calcite.

Her publication portfolio demonstrates methodological innovation in uranium-series dating and significant contributions to understanding orbital forcing impacts on paleoclimate. Recent work reveals Southern Ocean mechanisms driving multidecadal CO₂ rises and develops novel techniques for ²³⁴U-²³⁸U age determination.

• Editorial board member, Climate of the Past
• Editor, Ice Core Chapter for Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science (3rd ed.)
• Heising-Simons Foundation Science Grant ($1.2M) for U/Th dating technology development
• Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Grant (€500k) for 800,000-year Devils Hole climate record

As an active science communicator, Dr. Wendt co-founded the School of Ice professional development program and participated in the HHMI BioInteractive film The Science of Climate Change. Her teaching includes graduate-level Climate Science and Global Change courses with enrollment exceeding 90 students. She regularly convenes sessions at major geoscience conferences (AGU, EGU) and delivers invited lectures internationally.