Sara Elliott

Research Interests

• Scanning Electron Microscopy (esp. SEM-Cathodoluminescence)
• Diagenesis, Deformation Structures, & Fluid Flow
• Clastic and Carbonate Petrography 
• Bedding-Parallel Fractures in Shale
• Holocene Wetland and Riparian Paleoecology – NE United States

Education

• B.S. Geological Sciences & Biology, Provost Honors– University of Miami, 2010
• M.S. Geosciences – Pennsylvania State University, 2012

Professional History

• Research Scientist Associate II, Bureau of Economic Geology, 2013 – Present
• Graduate Research/Teaching Assistant, Penn State, 2010 – 2012 
• Student Research Assistant, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 2008 – 2010 
• Geological Sciences Tutor, University of Miami, 2009 – 2010 
• Petrophysics Lab Assistant, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 2009

Selected Publications

Elliott, S.J., Grettenberger, C.L., Donovan, M.P., Wilf, P., Walter, R.C., and Merritts, D.J. (2015) Riparian and valley-margin hardwood species of pre-colonial Piedmont forests: A preliminary study of subfossil leaves from White Clay Creek, southeastern Pennsylvania, USA. Paleontologia Electronica (In Press)

Elliott, S.J., Wilf, P., Walter, R.C., and Merritts, D.J. (2013) Subfossil Leaves Reveal a New Upland Hardwood Component of the Pre-European Piedmont Landscape, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. PLoS ONE 8(11): e79317. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079317

Published Interviews

• “Buried leaves reveal precolonial eastern U.S. forests and guide stream restoration.” Science Daily, 13 November 2013. [Elliott quoted therein].
• “What America’s forests looked like before Europeans arrived.” Scientific American, 13 November 2013. [Elliott quoted therein].
• “What America’s forests looked like 400 years ago.” Discovery News, 13 November 2013. [Elliott quoted therein].
• “Buried fossil leaves reveal precolonial US forests: Guiding stream restoration.” Science World Report, 14 November 2013. [Elliott quoted therein].

Awards

• Early Career Development Publication Award, Bureau of Economic Geology, 2015
• P.D. Krynine Scholarship, Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, 2011 – 2012
• Geological Society of America Student Research Grant, 2011
• Bowman-Foster-Ashe Academic Tuition Scholarship, University of Miami, 2006 – 2010
• Florida Bright Futures Academic Scholars Award, 2006 – 2010

Professional Societies

• The Geological Society of America
• The American Geophysical Union
• The Nature Conservancy