Dr. Montgomery is a Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he leads the Geomorphological Research Group and is a member of the Quaternary Research Center. His research addresses the evolution of topography and the influence of geomorphological processes on ecological systems and human societies.
Dr. Montgomery's published work includes studies of the role of topsoil in human civilization, the evolution and near-extirpation of salmon, morphological processes in mountain drainage basins, the evolution of mountain ranges, and the use of digital topography. He has conducted field research in eastern Tibet and the American Pacific Northwest. In 2008 Dr. Montgomery received a MacArthur Fellowship. His book, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations won the 2008 Washington State Book Award in General Nonfiction. His most recent book is The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood, from which this lecture is based.