Dr. Christy Till is a geologistwho leads a multidisciplinary research program that studies the role of magma in the formation and evolution of planets, known as the EPIC lab. Her research and that of the EPIC lab includes determining the timescales and triggers for eruptions at active volcanoes in the US, including Yellowstone, growing minerals and magma in high pressure and temperature laboratory experiments, and studying likely compositions of magma and crusts on exoplanets. She received her BS & MS at UC Santa Barbara and PhD at MIT and was employed by the US Geological Survey prior to starting a professorship at Arizona State University in 2014.
Her work has been recognized with a variety of awards including the American Geophysical Union's 2024 Reginald Daly Lecture, an NSF CAREER grant, and the 2019 Early Career Award from the Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Volcanology & Petrology Division of the Geological Society of America. Research from the EPIC lab has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, USA Today, and Time and on programs from National Geographic, NPR, PBS, and AZ Channel 12. She also has been elected to a number of scientific leadership positions, including for SZ4D, and the Board of Directors, the Council and section leadership for the American Geophysical Union, the largest professional organization of Earth and space scientists. Prior to her career as scientist, Dr. Till was employed full-time as a professional ballet dancer for five years in two world-renowned companies.
Dr. Till also is committed to inclusive excellence, as well as improving science communication. For example, she has served as the Associate Director for an Inclusive Community in SESE (20-21, 25-26) and was an inaugural AGU LANDInG Fellow (2021-2023), where she started her work on re-envisioning the processes around graduate qualifying exams and assessment. She also conducts work at the intersection of the arts and science, bringing together her backgrounds in dance and geology.
I will be a Visiting Miller Professor in residence at UC Berkeley for Fall 2026, where I will be working on identification of magmatic processes through machine learning.