About Me.
I was born and raised in Manaus, a 2+ million people city in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. It was during my undergrad studies in Manaus that I learned that rivers have a story to tell. Since then, I couldn't stop thinking about the evolution of the Earth's surface and what hidden stories I could uncover by studying landscapes. Inspired in the Earth’s amazing scenery, I am intrigued by the processes that interact to create, sustain, and modify landscapes through time.
Below you'll find more about my path in this pursuit of speaking the language of landscapes. Click the box below to download my full CV.
Positions
2022 - Present
Queens College
City University of New York
Assistant Professor
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Doctoral Professor at the Earth and Environmental Science, CUNY Graduate Center
2018-2022
Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto
Assistant Professor (tenured in 2021)
Departmento de Geologia
Escola de Minas
2016-2018
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego
Postdoctoral Researcher
Scripps EARTH
Focus: Geomorphology and Cosmogenic Isotopes
Advisor: Dr. Jane K. Willenbring
Publications
* denotes student author
Title | Authors | Year | Journal |
|---|---|---|---|
(U-Th)/He ages of the lateritization and bauxitization events in the Central-Eastern Amazon | Albuquerque, M; Horbe, AMC; Gautheron, C; Vieira, JGC; Val, P; Pinna-Jame, R; Salazar, CA | 2025 | Chemical Geology |
Mobility of South America's transcontinental drainage divide and shrinkage of the Paraná River Basin linked to lithologic and geodynamic controls | Crelier, C; Zumba, A; Peifer, D; Val, P | 2025 | Scientific Reports |
Knickpoint migration and transient landscapes on the continental margin of Northeastern Brazil | Panta, G; Corrêa, AC; Val, P; Monteiro, KA | 2025 | Geomorphology |
Rock diversity drives river network reorganizations that boost continental biodiversity | Val, P; Peifer; D | 2024 | Preprint |
Human impacts outpace natural processes in the Amazon | Albert, J, Carnaval, AC, Flantua, SGA, Lohmann, LG, Ribas, CC, Riff, D, Carillo, JD, Fan, Y, Figueiredo, JJP, Guayasamin, JM, Hoorn, C, Melo, GH, Nascimento, N, Quesada, CA, Ulloa Ulloa, C, Val, P, Arieira, J, Encalada, AC, Nobre, CA | 2023 | Science |
Optimising global landscape evolution models with 10Be | Ruetenik GA; Jansen JD; Val P; Ylä-Mella L | 2023 | Earth Surface Dynamics |
Cenozoic tectonic reactivation and its implications for landscape transience in southeastern Brazil | Santos, JM; Salamuni, E; Val, P; Silva, CL; Morales, M; Souza, IA; Sanches, E | 2023 | Earth Surface Processes and Landforms |
Landscape evolution as a diversification driver in freshwater fishes | Val, P.; Lyons, N; Gasparini, N; Willenbring, J; Albert, J | 2022 | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
Cyclic sediment deposition by orbital forcing in the Miocene wetland of western Amazonia? New insights from a multidisciplinary approach | Hoorn, C; Kukla, T; Bogotá-Angel, G.; van Soelen, E; González-Arango, C; Wesselingh, FP; Vonhof, H; Val, P.; Morcote-Rios, G; Roddaz, M; Dantas, EL; Santos, RV; Damsté, JSS; Kim J-H; Morley, RJ | 2022 | Global and Planetary Change |
Cosmogenic Nuclide Techniques | Schaefer, JM; Codilean, AT; Willenbring, JK; Lu, Z-T; Keisling, B; Fülöp, R-H; Val, P | 2022 | Nature Reviews Methods Primers |
Bases teóricas do modelo stream-power de incisão fluvial | Peifer, D; Cremon, ÉH; Val, P, Fernandes, NF | 2022 | Revista Brasileira de Geomorfologia |
The Miocene wetland of western Amazonia and its role in biogeography | Hoorn, C; Boschman, LM; Kukla, T; Sciumbata, M; Val, P | 2022 | Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |
Funding (selected)
2024
National Science Foundation
Division of Earth Sciences, Geomorphology and Land-Use Dynamics
2023
Instituto Serrapilheira
CAREER: Tectonically dead but geomorphologically alive: Investigating the role of hard rocks as triggers of widespread, long-term landscape change in continent interiors
U$750,499
DELTA H 2023
R$55,500
2023
PSC-CUNY
DEAR Amazon:
Detecting Erosion Acceleration in Response to deforestation and fires in the Amazon rainforest
U$6,000
Education
2012-2016
Syracuse University
PhD in Earth and Environmental Sciences, Focus: Tectonic Geomorphology
100% Supported with a CAPES Fellowship
Advisor: Gregory D. Hoke
PhD committee: Paul Fitzgerald, Rob Moucha, Terry Jordan, William Ouimet
2009
Washington & Lee University
Exchange student in Environmental Sciences
Funded by the CAPES-FIPSE Program
Advisor: David Harbor
2006-2012
Universidade Federal do Amazonas
Bachelor of Science, Geology
Undergrad research experiences in Geomorphology, Neotectonics, Structural Geology
Advisor: Clauzionor L. Silva