A chat with UNE PhD student, Stephanie Richter-Stretton

Tell us about your research?

I currently research Cambrian palaeontology – which was a really exciting time in Earth’s history. The Cambrian period began about 538 million years ago, and it was during this time that we see a rapid diversification of life and the appearance of most animal groups in the fossil record for the first time. In particular, I’m investigating the relationship between some of these first complex animals and the first animal-built reefs. I also study the processes that led to a fossil becoming fossilised, and at the moment, I’m investigating the unusual preservation we see at Australia’s only Cambrian-aged exceptional soft-bodied preservation site, the Emu Bay Shale. 

Why are you interested in this?

I’ve always been really interested in how the amazing diversity of animal life we see today came to be, and studying one of the first major evolutionary events is a pretty good place to start! I also love that as part of working on fossilised marine life, I get to study the carbonate rocks they’re preserved in as well, which keeps both palaeontology and geology in my life. But the short answer: simple zest for (prehistoric) life!

Where did your love of Earth Science begin?

I think I’ve loved Earth Science for as long as I can remember. I was always a very curious child, and wanted to know why everything is the way it is. The idea that Earth Sciences could be career pathway for me was really cemented by visits to museums in rural Queensland with my family during the school holidays – in particular I was in love with dinosaurs and with the landscapes (took me quite a few years to realise I was actually in love with the geology). I think I was about 11 years old when I decided, with as much certainty as an 11 year old can muster, that I was going to be a Palaeontologist when I grew up.