Max Christie

Dr. Max Christie is a Senior Lecturer in the Earth Science and Environmental Change department at the University of Illinois. He specializes in paleontology and stratigraphy, focusing on how extinction events impact ecosystems, particularly marine environments in North America. His research integrates stratigraphy, ecology, and statistical methods to study ecological changes over geological timescales.

• Teaches courses including GEOL 143 (History of Life), GEOL 208 (Earth System History), and GEOL 440 (Sedimentology and Stratigraphy).

His current work examines a 2.5-million-year-old marine extinction event along the U.S. southeastern coast. Key research themes include environmental gradients, onshore-offshore dynamics, and ecological responses to sediment deposition.

Publications explore topics like taphonomic overprinting, paleoecological patterns, and the ecological vs. taxonomic impacts of extinction. No scientific awards are explicitly listed, but his work has been referenced in Wikipedia and picked up by news outlets.

Labs/teams: Affiliated with the Natural History Building (Office 2024), though specific lab names are not mentioned. No advising or grant details provided in the text.