Rachel Wood (geologist) facts for kids
Rachel Wood is a super smart scientist who studies ancient life and rocks! She's a professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Who is Rachel Wood?
Rachel Wood is a palaeobiologist and a geologist. This means she's like a detective for Earth's past. A palaeobiologist studies really old life forms, often by looking at fossils. A geologist studies rocks, minerals, and how our planet has changed over millions of years. She teaches about "carbonate geoscience," which is all about rocks like limestone that are made from things like shells and corals.
What Does She Study?
Rachel Wood's research helps us understand some amazing things about Earth's history:
- Ancient Life Changes: She looks at a time called the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. This was a period hundreds of millions of years ago when life on Earth changed a lot, and many new types of animals appeared.
- How Shells and Bones Form: She studies something called biomineralisation. This is how living things, like snails or humans, make hard parts for their bodies, such as shells, teeth, or bones.
- Reefs Through Time: She also explores how coral reefs and similar structures have grown and changed over millions of years. Reefs are like underwater cities built by tiny creatures.
- Rock Formation: Her work also covers how "carbonate" rocks (like limestone) have formed throughout Earth's long history.
Her Work and Awards
Rachel Wood has written a book called Reef Evolution, which came out in 1999. It's all about how reefs have changed over time.
She also helps edit a science magazine called Science Advances. This means she helps decide which new scientific discoveries get published for other scientists to read.
In 2020, Rachel Wood received a very important award called the Lyell Medal from the Geological Society of London. This medal is given to scientists who have done amazing work in geology. Then, in 2022, she was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a huge honor for scientists in the United Kingdom, showing she is one of the top experts in her field!
