Justin Kulongoski Representing Alums in Government Member, SIO Alumni Network Leadership Team Member, Career and Business Development Network Executive Committee

Justin Kulongoski received a PhD from SIO in 2003. Justin focused on exploring groundwater dynamics and paleoclimate variability in the Mojave, Kalahari, and Central Australian deserts. He is currently a U.S. Geological Survey Research Hydrologist located at San Diego's California Water Science Center. His work includes studying the effects of tectonic regimes on ground-water composition, developing new techniques for monitoring seismic and volcanic hazards, and an ongoing assessment of California's groundwater resources.

Growing up on a small farm along Oregon's Willamette River, Justin experienced the importance of water--from rainfall and flooding to irrigation and recreation--and gained a deep respect for the hydrologic cycle and an interest in environmental policy and chemistry.

At UC Berkeley (BA), Justin became a scientific diver, and later applied this skill to reconstruct the inter-annual climate variability of the western pacific from coral paleoproxies acquired in Indonesia. Consequently, he pursued studies of isotope geochemistry and inorganic chemistry at the University of Oregon (BS). In 1996, Justin entered SIO's Geochemistry/Marine Chemistry curricular group, and helped to build the Fluids and Volatiles Lab with his mentor, Prof. David Hilton. Much of his work involved the design and construction of mass spectrometric based systems for the extraction, separation, and measurement of noble gas abundances, and the application of isotope geochemistry to the exploration of hydrologic systems.

Justin's current USGS work focuses on collecting essential data for the sound management of water resources. He continues to provide mentoring and logistical support for SIO students interested in studying phreatic and hydrothermal processes, collaborates with SIO researchers and faculty, and teaches Earth science courses at UCSD. He is keen to see the growth in partnerships between government and academia as a way to further the exploration of Earth's systems.