{"id":5517,"date":"2026-03-24T15:20:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T22:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/earth\/?p=5517"},"modified":"2026-03-24T15:32:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T22:32:20","slug":"dornsife-earth-sciences-phd-alum-kiersten-formoso-is-named-to-the-inaugural-usc-dornsife-10-to-watch-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/earth\/2026\/03\/24\/dornsife-earth-sciences-phd-alum-kiersten-formoso-is-named-to-the-inaugural-usc-dornsife-10-to-watch-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Dornsife Earth Sciences PhD Alum, Kiersten Formoso, is named to the inaugural USC Dornsife 10 to Watch list"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n  \n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Dornsife Earth Sciences PhD Alum, Kiersten Formoso, is named to the inaugural USC Dornsife 10 to Watch list<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n    \n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">March 24, 2026<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path 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21.4,15.4 6.7,15.4 6.7,19.6 21.4,19.6 16.3,24.6 \"\/>\n<\/svg>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n                                    <div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n                              <\/div>\n                              <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-intro \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-intro\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n<h2 data-gtm-vis-recent-on-screen113035130_36=\"1232\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen113035130_36=\"1232\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time113035130_36=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired113035130_36=\"1\"><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n<p>Kiersten Formoso is now Assistant Professor at Rutgers University. \u00a0She is a vertebrate paleontologist and functional morphologist who studies how animals that once lived on land, such as whales, evolved over time to live in the water. Her work has earned her national recognition, including a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/30-under-30\/2026\/\">Forbes 30 Under 30<\/a> nod in the Science category. <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/dornsife-alumni\/ten-to-watch\/kiersten-formoso\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more&#8230;.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-intro \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-intro\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"MqRlelLI1w\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/10-usc-dornsife-alumni-to-watch-in-2026\/\">10 USC Dornsife alumni to watch in 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;10 USC Dornsife alumni to watch in 2026&#8221; &#8212; USC Dornsife News\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/10-usc-dornsife-alumni-to-watch-in-2026\/embed\/#?secret=Pcn9HDbtRk#?secret=MqRlelLI1w\" data-secret=\"MqRlelLI1w\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":5528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,14,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awards","category-grad-students","category-honors"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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