Kevin Uno

Kevin Uno is an Associate Professor at Harvard University, holding joint appointments in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. His work focuses on terrestrial paleoecology, using geochemical and isotopic methods to study climate and environmental influences on mammalian and human evolution. He leads the Uno Terrestrial Paleoecology Lab, which emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to reconstruct past ecosystems.

Research interests include stable isotope geochemistry of fossils, plant waxes, and sediment records to decode historical climate shifts and their impacts on biodiversity. Notable projects involve the Turkana Basin in Kenya, where his team examines hominin environments and fire dynamics. Recent grants include an NSF CAREER award for biomarker proxy development and collaborative studies on fire and ecosystem change.

Lab members include graduate students like Eleanor Pereboom and postdocs such as Enquye Negash, focusing on topics like modern soil biomarkers and East African vegetation history. Recent publications highlight innovations in strontium isotope mapping for migration studies and Bayesian methods for seasonal climate reconstruction. The lab adheres to Harvard’s conduct policies and collaborates with institutions like Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.