Elizabeth Cottrell
Elizabeth Stevenson is a geologist and museum curator for the National Museum of Natural History. She is a fellow of both the Geochemical Society and the Mineralogical Society of America.
Early life and education
Born in 1975, Cottrell grew up in northern Vermont. Her father was an engineer. In 1997, Cottrell received a Bachelor of Science in geochemistry from Brown University. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in environmental science from Columbia University in 2004.Career
Cottrell has been a visiting scientist to the Carnegie Institute, as well as a Fulbright Scholar.The focus area of Cottrell's research is largely in Alaska and Oceania, though she works out of Washington, D.C. She has also worked as a visiting scientist to ClerVolc from Clermont Auvergne University. She is best known for her work in the geologic fields of mineralogy and volcanism, especially as it relates to the geochronology of the Earth. She currently works as the curator-in-charge of rocks and ores for the National Museum of Natural History, and as the chair of the museum's department of mineral sciences.
Cottrell's career at the Smithsonian Institution has also involved her serving as director of the Global Volcanism Program from 2010 to 2016. She was also a co-director of the NSF Natural Resources REU from 2010 to 2022. Being an employee of the Smithsonian Institution, she is often featured in the Smithsonian magazine as a geology expert. She has also appeared in other Smithsonian publications and media posts.