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Kate Dougherty

Environmental & Life Sciences Ph.D. Candidate, 2016-

kate dougherty 2024-09-25 07.20.25.jpg

Project: Organic Residues in Middle to Early-Late Woodland Ceramics in the Kawartha Lakes Region.

 

Bio

Kate has worn many hats at Trent University. As long-time member of the Department of Anthropology, Kate has spent over 20 years working as curator, demonstrator, and lab technician, supporting collections care, teaching, and the Department’s field school. She also brings her expertise to her doctoral work which seeks to examines the Woodland Period in the Great Lakes region, specifically how communities transitioned from hunter-fisher-forager lifeways to food production through residue analysis of ceramics.

Kate’s culinary expertise extends beyond the realm of understanding ancient foodways. She bakes cakes for every lab member’s birthday and cookies for the lab’s holiday cookie decorating activities, a task she executes with excellence always. She describes balancing life, work, and research as “hard but doable,” and perhaps that mindset comes from her many creative outlets. She sews much of her own clothing and is known for making elaborate costumes for herself and her family at Halloween. For her, sewing isn’t just a hobby, it parallels research in that it requires careful planning, patience, and attention to detail. She also knits and her current knitting project is an iconic Doctor Who scarf.

Kate loves reading widely, playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends, and surprising people with her penchant for heavy metal. Her favorite movies are Predator and This Is Spinal Tap which she calls a cult classic. As a scientist, Kate says her favourite scientific discovery is optics and microscopy. She opined that first, it has afforded her and many others the life-changing ability to see clearly with glasses, and secondly for how microscopes allow scientists see an entire hidden world. The following quote sums up Kate’s world pretty well: “Always be interested in the world around you because there is always something to question and explore.” Bio by Dorothy Buatsi.

TEAL Awards and Honours

🏆 2021 Best Analytical Session (Shared with Jen Routledge)

🎖️ 2021 Special Recognition for Achievement in Social Media (Lab Coat of Arms)

© 2025 by Paul Szpak.

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