Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences
McWilliams Seminar Series
The "W. Kent McWilliams Geological Research Fund" was formally established in 1980 by Kent McWilliams, an alumnus of Tulane University and co-founder of the McMoRan Exploration Company, to provide essential support for the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EENS), which was then known as the Department of Geology. A key provision of this endowment was the establishment of the weekly McWilliams Seminar Series.
Fall 2026
Seminar will be held every Friday from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM in Science & Engineering Labs, Room 126A for a series of engaging presentations from leading experts across the scientific community.
Pedro Val, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, CUNY Queens
Specialty: Tectonic Geomorphology
Talk: Hard Rocks Rule Widespread Drainage Reorganization in Continent Interiors
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
No Seminar
Muhedeen Lawal, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, The Ohio State University
Specialties: Geophysics, Marine Geology, CO₂ Sequestration
Talk: Controls on Seafloor Fluid Venting in the Gulf of Mexico
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Eric Barefoot, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Geology, University of California, Riverside
Specialties: Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Geomorphology, Experimental Fluid Mechanics, Geochronology, Landscape Evolution, Paleoclimate
Talk: Measuring the Abundance and Dimensions of Natural River Levees Reveals That Levees Depend Very Little on Hydrology
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Abby Eckland, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, LSU New Orleans
Specialty: TBD
Talk: TBD
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Ipsita Gupta, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, LSU
Specialties: Petroleum Engineering and Hydrology; Carbon Storage and Sequestration; Underground Hydrogen Storage; Produced Water Resource Extraction; Lithium; Geothermal Energy Extraction; Gas Hydrate Production and Recovery
Talk: Lithium and Orphan Wells
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
No Seminar — Fall Break
James Leong, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Miami University
Specialty: TBD
Talk: TBD
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Scott Jones, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of North Florida
Specialties: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Coastal and Marine Biology, Coastal Resiliency, Ecological Restoration, Wetlands
Talk: TBD
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Lucien Nana Yobo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University
Specialties: Isotope Geochemistry, Paleoclimate, Paleoceanography, Carbonate Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
Talk: TBD
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Io Ioannidi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Specialties: Lithosphere Deformation, Geotectonics, Rock Rheology, Numerical Modeling, Analogue Modeling, Subduction Zones, Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA), Granular Media
Talk: TBD
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Davin Wallace, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Southern Mississippi
Specialties: Coastal Geology, Marine Geology, Paleotempestology, Geomorphology, Sediment Transport, Geological Oceanography
Talk: TBD
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Dare Odugbesan
Tulane University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Program: Post-Quals Presentations
Talk: TBD
Mao Mao
Tulane University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Program: Post-Quals Presentations
Talk: TBD
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
Kaetlyn Rodriguez
Tulane University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Program: Post-Quals Presentations
Talk: TBD
Ling Li
Tulane University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Program: Post-Quals Presentations
Talk: TBD
Time: 12–1:30 p.m.
No Seminar — Thanksgiving Break
AGU Annual Meeting Prep
Spring 2026
Seminar will be held every Friday from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM in Science & Engineering Labs, Room 126A for a series of engaging presentations from leading experts across the scientific community.
Speaker: Juan Lorenzo | LSU
Topic: Lunar Rovers (SpaceSSE)
Host: Cynthia Ebinger
Speaker: David Brain | University of Colorado at Boulder
Topic: Planetary
Host: Eduardo Arzabala
| Speaker: | John Sabo | Tulane - ByWater Institute |
| Topic: | TBD |
| Host: | Torbjorn Tornqvist |
Stories of Communicating Scientific Ocean Drilling, from Text to Textiles
Laura Guertin, PhD | Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences, Penn State Brandywine
No Seminar
Ethical field work in the geosciences
Juliet Ryan-Davis, PhD | Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT; Incoming Assistant Professor (Fall 2026), Boston College
"Diverging Elevation Trajectories of US Atlantic Coast Marshes"
Asif Hasan, Ph.D. | Student Tulane Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
&
"Fault-Controlled Fluid Migration Processes in the Northern Gulf of Mexico"
Babatunde Arogundade, Ph.D. Student | Tulane Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
"New perspectives from accessory minerals on magmatic and ore-forming processes"
"Accelerating the Energy Transition with AI-Driven Solid Earth Geoscience"
TBD
"Listening to active peridotite alteration: Lessons for geological hydrogen and carbon mineralization"
"Modeling delta morphodynamics: theory and application to the Wax Lake Delta"
Giulio Mariotti, PH.D | Associate Professor, Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences LSU
No Seminar - Spring Break
“Exploring Coastal Change Through Numerical Modeling and Field Observations”
Danghan Xie, PhD
University of Maryland
“Climate Change Impacts on Seafood Micronutrients and Contaminants Levels”
Amina Schartup, Ph.D
UC San Diego
“Resilience through refuge? Evaluating how siting and design can influence restoration outcomes for intertidal ecosystems”
Rachel K. Gittman, Ph.D.
East Carolina University