Sora Kim

Sora Kim is an Associate Professor and Interim Chair of the Environmental Systems Sciences Undergraduate Program at the University of California, Merced. She serves as Faculty Director of the Stable Isotope Ecosystem Laboratory of (SIELO) within the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences. Her research focuses on paleoecology, climate change, environmental reconstruction, and stable isotope biogeochemistry, with projects spanning terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Dr. Kim holds a Ph.D. in Earth Science from UC Santa Cruz (2010) and a BA in Earth Sciences and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth (2002).

Her work employs stable isotope analysis to investigate ecological and environmental changes, emphasizing physiological transformations in organisms. Recent studies include shark tooth isotopes for paleoclimatic insights and collagen isolation methodologies. Dr. Kim collaborates on IsoBank, a centralized isotopic data repository, and leads the Ecogeochemistry Lab exploring environmental change-biotic interaction dynamics.

Research interests include fossil record analysis, diagenetic processes in archaeological sites, and isotopic proxies for redox conditions. While no scientific awards are listed, her contributions to stable isotope methodology and paleoenvironmental reconstruction are notable. Advising and grant details are not explicitly stated in the provided texts, though she plans to admit a graduate student in Fall 2024.