Bio
Bennett Slibeck is a PhD candidate at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), where he studies dinosaur footprints, the End Triassic Extinction (202 million years ago), and global environmental change through the Mesozoic (252-65 million years ago). As an indigenous scientist, Bennett is also keenly focused on environmental justice, and is a part of ongoing collaboration between Columbia University and the Navajo Nation to understand the distribution of geogenic groundwater contaminants in the Nation’s water supply. Bennett considers himself a storyteller above all else, and notes that paleontology provides our best framework for navigating an increasingly volatile future. Through his career as a scientist and educator, Bennett hopes to inspire people to see the deeply intrinsic sense of wonder gained through careful observation of any natural system, such that they carry that wonder with them into a more beautiful world.
Advisor: Paul Olsen