Dr Chris Follett SB, PhD

Personal Statement

I combine a broad background in oceanography with a foundation in physics to answer systems-level questions about marine nutrient cycles and the organisms which drive them. I start with simple concepts and equations, and collaborate heavily with both modelers and experimentalists to formally test ideas. This approach has led to advances in our understanding of the cycling of dissolved organic carbon in the deep ocean, the persistence of the summertime export pulse of carbon in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, and the invention of novel methods for the measurement of nitrogen fixation from diel measurements of particulate elemental ratios. Recent efforts have focused on understanding the biogeography of plankton species, with special attention on the globally dominant phytoplankton Prochlorococcus, and symbiotic nitrogen fixing diatom-diazotroph associations.

Professional Experience:

Lecturer, University of Liverpool, 2023-present
Research Affiliate, MIT, 2023-present
Research Scientist, MIT, 2020-2022
Honorary Research Associate, Bristol University, 2019-present
Visiting Academic, Cardiff University, 2018-2020
Simons Foundation (CBIOMES) Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT, 2017-2020
Postdoctoral Associate, MIT, 2014-2017
PhD, MIT-WHOI Joint Program (Chemical Oceanography), 2008-2014
Linden Earth System Fellow, MIT, 2007-2008