Earth Systems Scientist
Adelaide, SA, Australia • 0457 252 302 • alexfwall@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/alexfwall •
alexfwall.github.io/Palaeomancer/
Interdisciplinary Earth Scientist with expertise in palaeoecology, geochemistry, and sedimentology. Extensive experience in fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and data visualisation. Passionate about big questions and diverse perspectives. Research aimed at uncovering and shaping Earth’s story.
University of Wollongong, Australia | July
2024
- Thesis: Exploring Environmental and Climatic Complexity between
Sunda and Sahul: Insights from Wallacea using Multiproxy Speleothem and
Lacustrine Records
- Supervisors: A/Prof Tim Cohen, Prof Richard “Bert” Roberts, Prof Andy
Baker, A/Prof Janelle Stevenson
- Focus: Palaeoecology, geochemistry, sedimentology, time-series
analysis, environmental reconstructions
University of Cincinnati, USA | August 2016
- Thesis: Bellwether of the Canaries: Anthropogenic Effects on the
Land Snail Fauna of the Canary Islands
- Supervisors: Dr Yurena Yanes, Dr Arnold I. Miller
- Focus: Malacology, palaeoecology, GIS analysis, statistical
modelling
University of Iowa, USA | December 2007
University of Iowa, USA | December 2007
Global Ecology |
Partuyarta Ngadluku Wardli Kuu, Flinders University
ARC Centre of Excellence for
Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures
September 2025–Present
- Analyse palaeo- and modern environmental time-series data derived from
lake, lagoon, river, and wetland sediment cores.
- Develop and apply statistical and computational models to interpret
vegetation, fire, and climate proxies spanning the last ~1000
years.
- Build and maintain reproducible codebases for handling complex,
uncertain environmental datasets.
- Design and run simulation models to test proxy behaviour under varying
environmental and climatic constraints.
- Work collaboratively with palaeoecologists, climatologists,
archaeologists, and Indigenous collaborators across multiple
universities and Aboriginal Corporations.
- Contribute to co-designed research with Indigenous communities,
supporting ethical data access and interpretation.
- Integrate palaeoenvironmental records with modern observations to
improve long-term environmental reconstructions.
- Contribute to peer-reviewed publications, reports, and project outputs
in collaboration with Chief Investigators and partners.
- Support interdisciplinary research planning, data synthesis, and
interpretation across distributed research teams.
School of Culture, History and Language, Australian National
University
November 2024–July 2025
- Conducted fieldwork across diverse Australian landscapes, collecting
sedimentological and palaeoecological samples.
- Trained graduate students in laboratory procedures and analyses.
- Performed radiocarbon sample preparation and analysis, including
running the line.
- Maintained laboratory equipment and manage research materials,
ensuring safe and efficient operations.
- Supported collaborative research projects by liaising with
interdisciplinary teams, Traditional Custodians, and other
stakeholders.
- Contributed to research outputs, assisting in manuscript preparation
and data analysis.
- Developed a research-quality 3D printed pollen trap design.
School of Culture, History and Language, Australian National
University
November 2022–November 2024
- Developed VegeMap, a national citizen science initiative monitoring
modern Australian pollen dispersal.
- Established a pollen monitoring network across Australia, from the
Daintree Rainforest to the Strzelecki Desert.
- Designed and conducted vegetation surveys, collecting and analysing
large datasets using R and GIS.
- Coordinated laboratory work, developing a novel method for extracting
pollen from a cotton substrate.
- Co-advised a PhD student on sedimentology (ongoing).
- Collaborated with ecologists, geochemists, and archaeologists to
investigate past climate-environment interactions.
- Participated in outreach initiatives, presenting VegeMap to schools,
science festivals, and media platforms.
Earth and Environmental Science, University of
Wollongong
August 2018–June 2024
- Conducted PhD research reconstructing Holocene climate and
environmental change in eastern Indonesia using palynological,
geochemical, and sedimentological proxies.
- Led time-series and spectral analyses on sediment core and speleothem
samples.
- Demonstrated in field and lab-based courses: From the Field to the
Lab, Fluvial Geomorphology, Planet Earth.
- Performed laboratory analyses: pollen preparation, stable isotope and
uranium-thorium dating, radiocarbon dating, SEM transmission,
cross-polar microscopy.
Grand View University, Des Moines, IA
August 2017–April 2018
- Taught and demonstrated laboratory sections for General Biology
I and How Life Works courses.
- Designed and implemented hands-on, inquiry-based learning
activities.
- Assisted students in developing scientific reasoning and laboratory
skills.
Department of Geology, University of
Cincinnati
August 2014–August 2016
- Conducted Master’s thesis research on anthropogenic effects on land
snail fauna of the Canary Islands, published in Biodiversity and
Conservation.
- Led field sampling at 60 localities, collecting over 34,000 land snail
subfossils to assess biodiversity shifts.
- Applied statistical and GIS methods to analyse ecological
patterns.
- Co-led the Quantitative Methods in R workshop.
- Served as a field demonstrator for courses in Palaeontology and
Stratigraphy.
Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), Ithaca,
NY
February 2011–June 2014
- Liaised with Cornell University on NSF-funded science education
initiatives.
- Conducted professional development workshops for secondary school
Earth science teachers.
- Developed curriculum materials for the Teacher-Friendly Guides to
Geology series.
- Designed and implemented Virtual Field Experiences, digitising
Devonian fossil specimens.
- Trained staff and students on the Institution’s SEM.
- Co-led a GSA field trip along the Rocky Mountain Front Range.
- Organised and convened the 2011 & 2012 PRI Summer Symposiums.
Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), Ithaca,
NY
June 2010–February 2011
- Curated and catalogued historically significant malacological
collections.
- Assisted with specimen identification, curation, and database
management.
Kojen English Language Schools, Taipei, Taiwan
June 2008–January 2010
- Designed lesson plans and taught English as a second language to
preschool and elementary students.
- Implemented interactive, immersive language-learning techniques.
University of Iowa Paleontology Repository, Iowa City,
IA
November 2006–May 2008
- Digitised type specimens and performed curatorial work on
palaeontological collections.
- Processed specimen loans and developed standard SEM and light
photography procedures.
Boesl, F; Adhityatama, S; Wall, AF.
(2025).
A submerged landscape at the entrance of Sahul.
In: West New Guinea: Social, Biological, and Material Histories
(pp. 61-77). ANU Press.
Link
Wall, AF. (2024).
Pollen and pedagogy: Dispersing knowledge with VegeMap.
Quaternary Australasia, 41(1), 10-11.
Link
Wall, AF; Yanes, Y; Miller, J; Miller, AI.
(2017).
Bellwether of the Canaries: Anthropogenic effects on the land snail
fauna of the Canary Islands.
Biodiversity and Conservation.
Link
Kissel, RA; Wall, AF. (2016).
Topography of the Southwestern US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Earth Science of the Southwestern US. Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Colpaert, C; Nikitenko, B; Khafaeva, S;
Wall, AF. (2016).
The evolution of Late Callovian to Early Kimmeridgian foraminiferal
associations from the central part of the Russian Sea (Makar’yev
section, Volga River Basin, Russia).
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
Link
Kissel, RA; Wall, AF. (2015).
Geologic History of the South Central US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Earth Science of the South Central US. Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
McCann, L; Moore, A; Wall, AF;
Lewis, G; Parrish, JT. (2015).
Soils of the Western US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Earth Science of the Western US. Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Allmon, WD; Kissel, RA;
Wall, AF. (2015).
Fossils of the South Central US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Earth Science of the South Central US. Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Wall, AF. (2014).
Glaciers of the Midwestern US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US. Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Wall, AF. (2014).
Mineral Resources of the Midwestern US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US. Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Kissel, RA; Wall, AF. (2014).
Geologic History of the Midwestern US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Geology of the Midwestern US. Paleontological Research
Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Kissel, RA; Wall, AF. (2014).
Rocks of the Midwestern US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Geology of the Midwestern US. Paleontological Research
Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Wall, AF. (2014).
Topography of the Midwestern US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US. Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Wall, AF; Allmon, WD. (2014).
Fossils of the Midwestern US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US. Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Wall, AF; Parrish, JT. (2014).
Climate of the Midwestern US.
In: Lucas, MD; Ross, RM; Swaby, AN (eds.), The Teacher-Friendly
Guide to the Earth Science of the Midwestern US. Paleontological
Research Institution, Ithaca, New York.
Link
Wall, AF. (2023).
Introducing VegeMap. Poster presented at International
Quaternary Association (INQUA) Conference, 29 Jul; Rome, Italy.
Wall, AF. (2020).
Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental records of tropical
Australasia. Talk presented at Australasian Quaternary Association
(AQUA) Conference, 23 Jul; Virtual.
(Invited) Wall, AF. (2020).
Northern Gateway Flagship. Talk presented at CABAH Annual
Symposium, 1 Nov; Virtual.
Wall, AF. (2019).
Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental records of tropical
Australasia. Poster presented at International Quaternary
Association (INQUA) Conference, 29 Jul; Dublin, Ireland.
Wall, AF. (2018).
Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental records of tropical
Australasia. Talk presented at Australasian Quaternary Association
(AQUA) Conference, 11 Dec; Canberra, ACT.
Wall, AF. (2015).
Taphonomic lag on land: Snail death assemblages show rapid
incorporation of synanthropic communities on San Salvador Island, The
Bahamas. Talk presented at Geological Society of America (GSA)
127th Annual Meeting & Exposition, 3 Nov; Baltimore, MD.
Rasmussen, B; Wall, AF. (2015).
A quantitative study of bivalves bioeroded by Cliondidae sponges
from San Salvador, Bahamas. Talk presented at Geological Society of
America (GSA) 127th Annual Meeting & Exposition, 3 Nov; Baltimore,
MD.
Wall, AF. (2015).
Patchy distribution of tree snails of San Salvador, The
Bahamas. Talk presented at 9th Annual Ohio (River) Valley Unified
Malacologists (OVUM) Meeting, 17 Oct; Pittsburgh, PA.
Wall, AF; Dietl, GP. (2014).
Marginal damage, major consequences: The effects of sublethal damage
on the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria. Talk presented at
Geological Society of America (GSA) 125th Anniversary Annual Meeting
& Exposition, 27 Oct; Denver, CO.
Wall, AF; Dietl, GP. (2013).
Marginal damage, major consequences: The effects of sublethal damage
on the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria. Talk presented at
Geological Society of America (GSA) 125th Anniversary Annual Meeting
& Exposition, 27 Oct; Denver, CO.
Updated on 02 March 2025.