Marcia Bjornerud is Professor of Geology and Environmental Studies at Lawrence University in Appleton. Bjornerud’s research focuses on the physics of earthquakes and mountain-building, and she combines field-based studies of bedrock geology with quantitative models of rock mechanics. Bjornerud has done research in high arctic Norway (Svalbard) and Canada (Ellesmere Island), as well as mainland Norway, Scotland, New Zealand, and the Lake Superior region. She teaches courses ranging from ‘hard rock’ and planetary geology to environmental modeling and history of science. She received a BS in geophysics from the University of Minnesota and her MS and PhD in structural geology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She then held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University and worked as a contract geologist for the Geological Survey of Canada and the Norwegian Polar Institute.