Chrissy Hall

My background: “I study how animals responded to climate change millions of years ago. I mostly work on microscopic fossils called ostracods. They are small crustaceans that have a hard shell around their shrimp-like bodies and can be found in all different aquatic environments—salty, fresh, shallow, deep—you name it. I’m especially interested in comparing how responses to climate change have differed in different environments.”

This fall I’m teaching: “Oceanography and Climate Change”

What students can expect of me: “Very broadly, I try to teach in a way that’s engaging and accessible to people from a wide range of backgrounds. I think that being able to understand the scientific method and how to communicate scientific topics is important for anyone, even if you aren’t necessarily planning to be a scientist, so I try to incorporate activities that help develop those skill sets in my teaching.”

I’m excited to be here because: “I’m very excited to be teaching at Lafayette because I’ve missed teaching while doing my research-based postdoc, and I have really missed being in a smaller liberal arts setting. I’m so excited about all of the possibilities that exist with smaller class sizes and a focus on an interdisciplinary curriculum!”