Dr. Erin Dimaggio

Biography

Erin DiMaggio is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Penn State University. She obtained her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Arizona State University in 2013. Her research focuses on the sedimentary rocks and volcanic deposits to understand the continental rifting processes, the timing of geologic settings, and their relation to early human evolution. DiMaggio's work is centered around the geologic context of early human evolution and involves extensional faulting, basin development, and the magmatic evolution of explosive volcanism in rift zones. She collaborates closely with paleontologists and archaeologists using geochemical correlations of tephra deposits from Afar, Ethiopia, which are crucial for human origins studies. Her projects include stratigraphic analysis for interpreting depositional environments and structural geology of rift development. Additionally, she studies the geomorphology of the lower Awash region in Afar, Ethiopia, employing cosmogenic radionuclides. Throughout her academic career, DiMaggio has engaged in outreach programs to promote STEM disciplines among K-12 and higher education students. She currently holds the position of NASA/Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium Undergraduate Research Programs Director at Penn State University, where she directs the PSGC Research Internship Program, placing first-year undergraduate students with faculty mentors in STEM fields for year-long research internships and developing educator workshops.

Research Interests

Experience