Home
Personnel

Director's Office

Click here for C.V. and extended profile.	John E. Noakes, PhD Director John Noakes, Ph.D., is a geochemist and chemical oceanographer with long-term interests in geochronology, liquid scintillation counting, and the development of field deployable instruments for conducting real-time surveys in aquatic and terrestrial environments... Read more. He has been the Director of the CAIS since its inception in 1977, expanding the Center's role to become an internationally recognized research laboratory in the fields of radiocarbon dating, stable isotopic analysis, and more recently as a major facility in the emerging field of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). He has been a Graduate Faculty member at UGA since 1968. Read less.
C.V. and contact.	Jeff Speakman Associate Director Jeff Speakman is an archaeologist and geochemist with research interests in ceramic and obsidian geochemistry and heavy metals in the environment. Read more. Much of Jeff's current research centers on the development and application of portable analytical equipment (e.g., portable-XRF) to non-invasively study archaeological and geological materials, art, and other materials. Jeff has recently been appointed as Associate Director of the CAIS, coming from the Museum Conservation Institute of the Smithsonian Institution. Read less.
	Juanita Strickland Administrative Manager II Juanita is an Administrative Manager II of the CAIS and oversees all matters of business affairs and finance. office. Read more.
	Carolyn Morril Administrative Associate Carolyn was the administrative manager of the CAIS and oversaw all business affairs of the Center since its inception in 1977 until her retirement in November 2012. She now works part time in the business office. Read more.
	Paula Moon Administrative Associate Paula is an administrative associate in charge of day-to-day office activities, coordinating sample login and overseeing invoicing of analytical services. Read more.
	Dorothy O'Niell Editor Dorothy O'Niell is an editor serving the scientific staff of the CAIS for the preparation of grant proposals, manuscripts for publication and professional presentations, and the administrative staff for a variety of needs related to Center operations. Read more.

Scientific Staff

More information.	Becky Auxier Research Professional Becky Auxier is an analytical chemist with expertise in inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy, plasma emission spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy. She has for many years managed the Chemical Analysis Laboratory on the UGA campus, and has been affiliated with the CAIS since 2006. Read more. back to top
C.V. and contact.	Alex Cherkinsky, Ph.D. Senior Research Scientist Alex Cherkinsky, Ph.D., is a biogeochemist with research interests in the applications of AMS to archaeology, geology, hydrology, and the environmental sciences. Read more. Alex has interests in the development of new techniques for AMS sample preparation, measurement, and data analysis and has developed novel approaches for radiocarbon dating of ultra-small samples. He has long-term interests in soil chemistry and soil carbon and his research on the radiocarbon dating of soil is internationally recognized. Read less.
C.V. and contact	Randy Culp, Ph.D. Associate Research Scientist Randy Culp, Ph.D., is a marine scientist and organic geochemist with research interests that involve the use of combined analytical techniques of gas chromatography / isotope ratio mass spectrometry and accelerator mass spectrometry to determine the isotopic abundance of 14C, 13C and D of individual compounds. Read more. He is also involved in the development of authentication methods for natural products via their isotopic abundance 14C, ?13C and ?D to determine degree of naturalness, or more specifically a botanical or renewable carbon origin, versus fossil fuel derivation. Most recently, Randy has led a successful effort to gain ISO17025 accreditation for the lab's expanding program for determining biobased content by ASTM method D6866-11 in manufactured products and biofuels. Read less.
More information	Doug Dvoracek, Ph.D. Associate Research Scientist Doug Dvoracek, Ph.D., is a geochemist with research interests focused on the application of accelerator mass spectrometric techniques in radiocarbon dating, including development of specialized sample preparation techniques for very small size samples... Read more. ...application of radiocarbon methods to resolve landscape development in the Southeastern U.S. and in tracking Caribbean Island settlement and canine domestication; geochemical discrimination of archaeological artifacts by X-ray fluorescence and isotopic techniques; geochemical characteristics of tectonic provinces and processes active during the Paleozoic assembly of the Appalachian mountain belt. Read less.
C.V. and contact	Scott Noakes, Ph.D. Associate Research Scientist Scott Noakes, Ph.D. is a marine scientist and geochemist with research interests primarily focused on the development of sensors for real-time in situ measurements of the marine environment. Read more. His work with sensors has extended into methane gas hydrate detection and carbon dioxide monitoring in the ocean, and he has worked to develop a system that can be used to map hydrate deposits in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico. Scott also has led a marine paleontological research project producing evidence of two extinct Atlantic gray whales of Pleistocene age in coastal Georgia waters. He presently serves as Director of the Scientific Diving Program for the University System of Georgia. Read less.
C.V. and contact	Ravi Prasad, Ph.D. Senior Research Scientist Ravi Prasad, Ph.D., presently oversees the CAIS Accelerator Mass Spectrometry program, and is charge of operations and maintenance of the two particle accelerators that serve the research programs of the CAIS. Read more. Ravi is a nuclear physicist with research interests in high performance computing and simulations in physics. His areas of expertise include nuclear particle accelerators, radiation detectors, vacuum systems and nuclear electronics. Read less.
C.V. and contact	Hai Pan, Ph.D. Post-Doctoral Research Associate Hai Pan joined the CAIS as a post-doctoral research associate in 2012. His research interests include marine biogeochemical cycling of organic matter and paleoceanography with the application of biomarkers and their isotopic compositions. Read more. back to top

Technical Staff

	Larry Greenway Research Technician Larry Greenway is a research technician with more than 20 years of experience at CAIS in the preparation of samples for liquid scintillation counting and stable isotope analysis. Read more.
	Marianne Happek Research Technician Marianne Happek is a research technician with the CAIS since 2009, working primarily on the pretreatment of samples for radiocarbon dating. Read more.
	Brooke Hamil Research Technician Brooke Hamil joined CAIS as a research technician in 2012. Her primary areas of research include isotope geochemistry and igneous petrology. Read more.
	David Smith Research Technician David Smith is a research technician with the CAIS since 1998. David oversees many of the functions in the stable isotope laboratory with duties are focused on preparation of samples for stable isotope, liquid scintillation counting and AMS analysis. Read more.
back to top	Floredeliza Smith Research Technician Liza Smith is a research technician and has been with CAIS since 2006. Her duties are focused on preparation of samples for stable isotope and AMS analysis. Read more.
	Cristin Lucas Research Technician Cristin Lucas has been a research technician with the CAIS since 2012. Her research interests focus on isotopic analyses of archaeological materials, particularly human and faunal skeletal remains, to illuminate patterns in diet and mobility of prehistoric populations. Read more.