From the Caribbean to East Africa: IU geologist Claudia Johnson facilitates student exploration through fieldwork
Quoting College of Arts + Sciences News: "As a professor in the Department Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS) within the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, Claudia Johnson’s fieldwork in the Dominican Republic and Tanzania gives students hands-on learning opportunities.
Through her undergraduate course, The Natural History of Coral Reefs, and her associate directorship of IU’s Center for Underwater Science, Johnson has been helping to provide students with the opportunity to explore reefs in the Caribbean for nearly 20 years.
Johnson’s interest in geology began during a work-study position where she worked with fossils as an undergraduate at the University of Missouri.
“I looked at so many fossils, took them in my hands, washed them off, examined them,” Johnson said. “I became interested in what they were, where they came from, and how old they were.”
She began taking geology classes and then transferred to the University of Colorado, where she earned her bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. in geological sciences.
Johnson came to IU Bloomington as a visiting assistant professor in 1995, was named a Herman B Wells Endowed Professor in 2021, and currently serves as the director of the College’s Center for Biological Research Collections, which digitizes fossils, including coral reef fossils, for research and educational projects."
The College of Arts