#SoCaltech: Claire E. Bucholz

“My mom always jokes that when I was little, I came to her and said I wanted to be a rock scientist, like instead of a rocket scientist. My pockets were always full of rocks; I’ve always been drawn to them. But what really piqued my interest was, in high school, instead of taking biology sophomore year, I did a study abroad program in Switzerland, and I took geology in the Swiss Alps. And from then on, it was just like, ‘This is what I'm doing.’ It’s that sense of awe when you’re holding a multibillion-year-old rock in your hands and thinking about just how long that’s been around. It puts things in perspective.”

Claire E. Bucholz is an assistant professor of geology. She will deliver her Watson Lecture, “When Earth Breathed Deeply,” on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. The lecture can be viewed both online and in person. A recording will be available soon after the lecture’s completion on Caltech’s YouTube channel.

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.