Lain Graham, M.A., RPA, joins our NSF REU team as the Senior Research Coordinator
Our interdisciplinary teams continues to expand in preparation for an exciting summer of research! Lain Graham joins us as the REU Senior Research Coordinator. The Senior Research Coordinator has experience in community geography and GIS from her participation as a graduate student in the 2013 REU GIS Course, and from her nine year career as Field/Laboratory Technician and Archaeologist for New South Associates. Lain specializes in the excavation and analysis of human skeletal remains, and studies these data to gain insight into diet, disease and demography. In addition to her time in the laboratory, Lain has led archaeological projects as a Field Director, performing cultural resource assessments on areas that have been proposed for development. Lain has extensive experience with GIS in the field. She has conducted data collection with a total station, various handheld GPS units, as well as subsurface equipment (ground penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometer). Lain and her project colleagues were the recipients of several awards, including the Federal Highway Administration’s Exemplary Human Environmental Initiative Award, for their work on historical burial sites in Georgia, and the Society for American Archaeology's Excellence in Public Education Award, for their work in public outreach. Lain has ample field and international travel experience. She has visited 15 countries including Turkey, Peru, Iceland, Egypt, Croatia and several countries in Europe. Lain has worked throughout the Southeastern US, Mexico, Belize and Puerto Rico. She is no stranger to extended travel abroad; she has participated in 1-4 month projects on academic excavations in Mexico, Greece, Cyprus and Crete. As the Senior Research Coordinator, Lain will assist the PI in management of the REU program. She will meet with community partners and will serve as a mentor to students, assisting them in the navigation of field data collection, GIS processing and day to day life abroad.