PNNL

Katherine Maier manages the Chemical and Biological Signatures Group, within the National Security Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

Before joining PNNL in 2024, Maier was the Ocean Geology group manager, project lead, and voyage lead at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), a Crown Research Institute in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Prior to NIWA, Maier worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and the U.S. Geological Survey in California.

Her science career has been focused on integrating geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and oceanographic data to study the transport of sediments, link tectonic and sedimentary processes, enable natural hazards assessments, track organic carbon through sedimentary systems, and provide scientific data for decision making.

• Marine and geological sciences
• Morphodynamic evolution in sedimentary systems
• Geochemistry and organic carbon dynamics
• Near-seafloor processes
• Observational datasets
• Natural hazards

• PhD in geological and environmental sciences, Stanford University
• BS in marine science and geological sciences, University of Miami

• Associate editor for Journal of Sedimentary Research
• Review editor for Frontiers in Earth Science, Sedimentology & Stratigraphy