Cecilia is a geobiologist, studying how the history of life is written in sedimentary rocks. Currently, she is studying how rocks rich in phosphate and organic material contain information about ecological relationships and changing environmental conditions in the Earth's ancient oceans. She works with rocks that she collects in the field from South America and Central Asia, as well as specimens in the extensive collections of NMNH. She uses field observations, microscopy, spectroscopy, and sometimes mass spectrometry to understand these rocks and their stories.
