Kiersten Formoso, Ph.D., is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Rutgers University. Originally from New Jersey, she received her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles studying how terrestrial ancestry influences evolution into aquatic environments. Formoso is keen on the intersection of biomechanics and major evolutionary transformations. Outside of her research and teaching, she is an avid musician, playing trombone in chamber ensembles at Rutgers, enjoys video games, and really loves James Cameron movies, especially Titanic and Avatar.