Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons

Profile Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons

• Born May 12, 1980 in Melbourne, Australia.
• BSc (Hons) in Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne, Australia (2002).
• Diploma in German Language at the University of Melbourne, Australia (2001).
• PhD in Quaternary Geology at the Australian National University (2007). Thesis: The late Quaternary history of aridity in the Strzelecki and Tirari Desert dunefields, South Australia.
• Habilitation at the University of Leipzig (2016). Dissertation: Addressing the challenge of reconstructing palaeoenvironments in studies of human-environmental interactions. (Awarded Hans-Bobek Dissertation Prize 2018, Österreichische Geographische Gesellschaft)
• Postdoctoral Fellow and Luminescence Laboratory Manager at Australian National University (2007-2010).
• Junior Researcher and Luminescence Laboratory Leader at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig (2010-2016).
• Albert Maucher Prize for Geosciences, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (2014).
• Max Planck Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, since 2017

Education

2016                             Habilitation, Faculty for Physics and Geosciences, University of Leipzig

                                    Dissertation title: Addressing the challenge of reconstructing palaeoenvironments in studies of human-environmental interactions

2003 - 2007                 PhD, Quaternary Geology, Australian National University (ANU)

                                    Thesis title: The late Quaternary history of aridity in the Strzelecki and Tirari Desert dunefields, South Australia

1998 - 2002                  Bachelor of Science (Honours), University of Melbourne

1998 - 2001                  Diploma of Modern Languages (German), University of Melbourne

 

Professional Experience

Dec 2016 -      Max Planck Research Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany

2010 – 2016     Junior Researcher, Luminescence dating group leader, Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

2007 – 2010     Postdoctoral Fellow, Luminescence Dating Laboratory Manager, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

2007                Research Assistant, Australian Research Council Network “OZPACS: Recent human impact on Australian ecosystems”, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

2006 – 2007    Research Assistant, Luminescence Dating Laboratory, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

2004                Full time volunteer, Sunseed Desert Technology, Almería, Spain

 

Prizes

2018                Hans-Bobek-Preis für Geographie, Österreichische Geographische Gesellschaft (ÖGG). EUR 2 000.

2014                Albert Maucher-Preis für Geowissenschaften, DFG. EUR 10 000.

                        http://www.dfg.de/gefoerderte_projekte/wissenschaftliche_preise/maucher-preis/2014/index.jsp

2007                Director’s Prize for Scientific Communication, Australian National University

2007                Student Travel Prize, Australasian Quaternary Association

2006                Student Award, Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments & Mineral Exploration

Professional Service

Speaker: for Max Planck Research Group Leaders, CPT Division of the Max Planck Society (2019-)

Ombudswoman: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (2017-)

Editor: Journal of Palaeolithic Archaeology (2017-), Quaternary Australasia (2007-2015)

Executive Committee: Australasian Quaternary Association (2007-2015)

Steering Committees: INTIMATE (Integrating Ice Core, Marine and Terrestrial Records; 2014-); Palaeolakes of the arid southern hemisphere INQUA Focus Group (2016-)

Mentoring: Minerva FemmeNet (Max Planck Society; 2017-)

Professional Societies: European Geosciences Union, Verband der Geographen an Deutschen Hochschulen, DEUQUA, Arbeitskreis Geoachäologie, Arbeitskreis Geomorphologie. European Society for Human Evolution, Australasian Quaternay Association

 

    Current students

    2019-         BSc Felix Hettwer (MPI/University of Mainz): Palaeoclimate reconstruction in loess using stable isotopes in             sedimentary carbonates

    2019-         MSc Maike Nowatzki (MPI/University of Tübingen): Automated GIS mapping of aeolian landforms in the             Central Asian piedmont

    2018-         PhD Alexandra Engström Johansson (MPI/University of Mainz): Quantitative palaeoclimate reconstruction in             Central Asian loess archives using organic geochemistry

    2017-         PhD Aditi Dave (MPI/University of Mainz): Geochronology and age model generation of loess archives along the             Central Asian piedmont

    Completed students

    2018           PhD Nina Doerschner (MPI/University of Leiden): Chronology and environmental context of archaeological             sites, Morocco

    2012           PhD Anja Guhl (MPI/University of Leipzig): Addressing the challenges of dating archaeological sites, Jonzac,             France

    2010          PhD Tegan Smith (ANU/co-supervised): Palaeoenvironment and landscape evolution at Lake Mulurulu, NSW

    Practicum supervision

    2019          Yao Zhang, PhD (Lanzhou University), 3 months

    2018          Maike Nowatzki, MSc (University of Tübingen), 3 months

    2018          Kristina Reetz, MSc (University of Mainz), 3 months

    2018          Christian Laag, MSc (University of Bayreuth), 6 weeks

    2017          Yue Li, PhD (Chinese Academy of Sciences Xi’an), 5 months

    2017          Johannes Albert, PhD (University of Mainz), 5 months

Teaching (overview)

·         15 years’ teaching experience at all levels (undergraduate, MSc and PhD)

·         Privatdozentin, Institut für Geographie, Universität Leipzig

·         Teaching at 5 universities and graduate schools in Australia and Germany

o   Institut für Geographie/Institut für Geowissenschaften, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz

o   Institut für Geographie, Universität Leipzig

o   Leipzig School of Human Origins

o   Geographisches Institut, Universität zu Köln

o   School of Geology (later Earth and Marine Sciences), Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University

·         Teaching in both English and German