Cornell Isotope Laboratory Staff

Arthur T. Kasson Laboratory Manager Contact information: Office: (607) 254-1382 Fax: (607) 255-8088 coil@cornell.edu

Art graduated from Mansfield University in 1998 with a Bachelors degree in Biology and a minor in Geography. The main focus of his senior thesis was the quantitative evaluation of benthic invertebrates in varying aquatic conditions as a measure of watershed sustainability. He also performed an independent study on evolutionary processes in regards to island population biogeography. After graduation, Art worked for Friend Laboratory Inc., an independently owned environmental laboratory located in Waverly, NY until the spring of 2000. There he worked in the field of atomic absorption spectrophotometry, performing trace metal analyses on water and soil samples. He was also involved in measuring landfill related samples for levels of mercury, arsenic, and selenium using approved EPA methodologies. Beginning in May 2000, Art began working for the Boyce Thompson Institute as a research assistant in Jonathan Comstock’s laboratory. During the summer of 2000 he collected samples for isotopic analysis from various national parks in the western United States. In 2001, Art transferred to the Cornell-Boyce Thompson Stable Isotope Laboratory as a research technician. Throughout the course of 2001, he became proficient in the field of IRMS. Art became the facility manager in January 2002. His duties as laboratory manager include maintenance and troubleshooting of instrumentation; calibration of instruments and methodologies; prepping of various sample types, as well as teaching students proper prepping techniques; preliminary evaluation of sample data; laboratory invoicing; and establishing an annual budget. Art has remained active in the field of continuous flow IRMS. He attends the Canadian CF-IRMS Workshop on an annual basis. During April 2003 he attended the Isomass Scientific Training Course held at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario. During this time he was certified in specific aspects of isotope ratio mass spectrometry related to Finnigan MAT instrumentation, peripherals, and software.  In 2004 Art moved along with the facility to a new location on Cornell University's campus.  This move prompted the renaming of the facility to the Cornell Isotope Laboratory (COIL). The facility is located within Corson Hall and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.  During this time he attended a Biogeochemistry Isotope Course at Michigan State University under the direction of Nathaniel Ostrom. In addition he has helped with the isotope portion of Cornell University’s annual Biogeochemistry Course taught by Lou Derry and has helped with Tom Brenna’s Continuous Flow Isotope Course.  In 2008 he attended the GC/PreCon/Gasbench portion of the Isomass Course to update his training on added peripheral devices within COIL.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kimberlee L. Sparks Research Support Specialist II Office: (607) 254- 4209 Fax: (607) 255-8088 Corson Hall E409 kls37@cornell.edu

Kim joined the COIL technical staff in July 2004 and is responsible for daily operation of the Delta Plus IRMS and assisting researchers with sample preparation. She began studying biology at UC Santa Barbara, majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (B.S. 1997) and continued to study plant ecology at Washington State University (M.S. 2000). From Washington State she moved to the University of Colorado, Boulder, working as a technician in the sub-alpine forest zone of the Rocky Mountains. She was primarily involved with quantifying the terrestrial carbon pools associated with an Ameriflux tower. In 2002 she began working at Cornell University as a Research Support Specialist. Her research includes a variety of topics focusing on the interaction of plants and their environment. In particular she has studied plant geographical range characteristics, effects of ozone on photosynthesis, plant ability to use gaseous reactive nitrogen compounds, and nitrogen cycling in the Mojave Desert and southern Florida. She has continued to gain valuable experience by attending seminars such as Light Element Isotopic Analysis (Cornell University, Tom Brenna) and Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry (Michigan State University, Nathanial Ostrom and Peggy Ostrom). For more information on Kim's publications and research experience visit http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/sparks/kim/kimpage.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Current Student Workers and Interns

Tara Brackley -- Research Assistant II
Tara is a Junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences majoring in Biological Sciences with the intention of going to medical school after graduation.  She has been with COIL since fall of 2007.  Outside of classes and work, Tara enjoys playing the flute, going swimming and baking.  Tara is from Marcellus, NY.

Bill Frederick -- Research Assistant II

Bill is currently a sophomore in Cornell's college of engineering, majoring in chemical engineering. He has been working in COIL since early 2008 as a student lab tech. He enjoys mountain biking, downhill skiing, camping, and hiking, and he is an active member of Cornell's Delta Tau Delta. Bill is originally from the Boston area and has worked there the past two summers as an intern in different locations.

Jocelyn Lavallee -- Research Assistant II

Jocelyn is a Cornell senior majoring in Science of Natural and Environmental Systems with a minor in Biological Sciences.  Past research experience includes fieldwork at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire and work on various projects with the Sparks lab.  She is currently working on an honor’s project comparing growth rates of two Hawaiian grasses, Heteropogon contortus and Pennisetum setaceum (an invasive species) under conditions of varying nutrients, as well as using isotopes to determine the phenotypic plasticity of P. setaceum individuals along an elevation gradient.  Outside of the lab, Jocelyn enjoys art, hiking with her dog, and live music.  After graduation, she hopes to complete a graduate degree and associated research in ecology and environmental chemistry.  She is from Croton On Hudson, NY.