The Williamson Family Colloquium Series
MU Department of Geological Sciences

 How can microfossils help to decipher environments, climates, and Earth’s History over the last 140 Ma?

James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished International Lecturer 2025-2026
Maria Rose Petrizzo (PhD)
Associate Professor of Paleontology and Paleoecology
The University of Milan, Italy

Room 103, Geological Science Bldg

Friday April 17th, 2026, at 3:30 pm

Refreshments will be provided!

For more information about Maria Rose Petrizzo, please see their profile page.

Ready for Forams? Cause I sure-am!

Dr. Petrizzo is a paleontologist with a specialization in micropaleontology and stratigraphy. She currently researches planktonic foraminifera and how they act as indicators for climatic change. She integrates her foram research with stratigraphy to better refine the Geological Time Scale.

When not in the university, she is working alongside ocean research drilling projects, collecting and describing fossils from the ocean floor.

Last year, she was recognized as the James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished Lecturer for 2025-2026 for her contributions to biostratigraphy, paleoecology, global oceanography, and global stratigraphy as well as her service to many journals and geological societies.

Her publications appear in Nature, Marine Micropaleontology, Science, and Global and Planetary Change