Info
Lecturer of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Robert Patalano
I am a Lecturer in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Bryant University, and the university's Campus Sustainability Liaison. I also coordinate the Environmental Science and Sustainability and Climate Action programs. In this role, I advise and mentor students majoring in Environmental Biology on the Ecology and Conservation track and those enrolled in the Environmental Science and Sustainability and Climate Action minor or concentration.
As Sustainability Liaison, I supervise all sustainability initiatives on campus and chair the Sustainability Working Group. Convened in September 2024, the Working Group is responsible for outlining sustainable campus development options through 2030, with milestones towards net-zero emissions by 2050, by integrating renewable energy, waste reduction, and green infrastructure across the university.
Degrees Awarded
Ph D, University of Calgary
MS, University of New Haven
BA, Bryant University
Ph D, University of Calgary
MS, University of New Haven
BA, Bryant University
Selected Publications
Jha, G.,Vyas, V.,Jha, D. K.,Patalano, R.,Paladugu, R.,Ilgner, J.,Boivin, N.,Raj, R.,Krishnan, K.,Roberts, P.,Petraglia, M., On-site plant-wax biomarker analysis for assessing soil-organic-microbial degradation in archaeological contexts: A case study from Southern-India, iScience, 2025.
Itambu, M.,Ben Arous, E.,Fernandes, R.,Gallinaro, M.,Ilgner, J.,Lucas, M.,Roberts, P.,Scott, E.,Steinhof, A.,Patalano, R., Renewed Archaeological Research in Singida Region, Central Tanzania, African Archaeological Review, 2025.
Ben Arous, E.,Blinkhorn, J. A.,Elliot, S.,Kiahtipes, C. A.,N’zi, C. D.,Bateman, M. D.,Duval, M.,Roberts, P.,Patalano, R.,Blackwood, A. F.,Niang, K.,Kouamé, E. A.,Lebato, E.,Hallett, E.,Cerasoni, J. N.,Scott, E.,Ilgner, J.,Alonso Escarza, M.,Guédé, F. Y.,Scerri, E. M., Humans in Africa’s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago, Nature, 2025.
Ben Arous, E.,Aouadi, N.,Belhouchet, L.,Mekki, H.,Trabelsi, K.,Mabrouki, M.,Essid, E.,Fehri, N.,Shao, Q.,Falguères, C.,Lebreton, V.,Roberts, P.,Patalano, R., Sidi Zin Archaeological Project: new investigations into the Acheulean and Middle Stone Age in Tunisia, Antiquity, 2025.
RamÃrez-Pedraza, I.,Tornero, C.,Aouraghe, H.,Rivals, F.,Patalano, R.,Haddoumi, H.,Expósito, I.,RodrÃguez-Hidalgo, A.,Mischke, S.,van der Made, J.,Piñero, P.,Blain, H.,Roberts, P.,Jha, D. K.,AgustÃ, J.,Sánchez-Bandera, C.,Lemjidi, A.,Benito-Calvo, A.,Moreno-Ribas, E.,Oujaa, A.,Mhamdi, H.,Souhir, M.,Aissa, A. M.,Chacón, M. G.,Sala-Ramos, R., Arid, mosaic environments during the Plio-Pleistocene transition and early hominin dispersals in northern Africa, Nature Communications, 2024.
Hamilton, R.,Amano, N.,Bradshaw, C. J.,Saltré, F.,Patalano, R.,Penny, D.,Stevenson, J.,Wolfhagen, J.,Roberts, P., Forest mosaics, not savanna corridors, dominated in Southeast Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024.
Patalano, R.,Hu, J.,Leng, Q.,Liu, W.,Wang, H.,Roberts, P.,Storozum, M.,Yang, L.,Yang, H., Ancient Great Wall building materials reveal environmental changes associated with oases in northwestern China, Scientific Reports, 2022.
Patalano, R.,Hamilton, R.,Finestone, E.,Amano, N.,Heddell-Stevens, P.,Itambu, M.,Petraglia, M.,Roberts, P., Microhabitat Variability in Human Evolution, Frontiers in Earth Science, 2021.
Patalano, R.,Roberts, P.,Boivin, N.,Petraglia, M. D.,Mercader, J., Plant wax biomarkers in human evolutionary studies, Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 2021.
Mercader, J.,Akuku, P.,Boivin, N.,Bugumba, R.,Bushozi, P.,Camacho, A.,Carter, T.,Clarke, S.,Cueva-Temprana, A.,Durkin, P.,Favreau, J.,Fella, K.,Haberle, S.,Hubbard, S.,Inwood, J.,Itambu, M.,Koromo, S.,Lee, P.,Mohammed, A.,Mwambwiga, A.,Olesilau, L.,Patalano, R.,Roberts, P.,Rule, S.,Saladie, P.,Siljedal, G.,Soto, M.,Umbsaar, J.,Petraglia, M., Earliest Olduvai hominins exploited unstable environments ~ 2 million years ago, Nature Communications, 2021.
Patalano, R.,Zech, J.,Roberts, P., Leaf Wax Lipid Extraction for Archaeological Applications, Current Protocols in Plant Biology, 2020.
Patalano, R., Studying lake deposits in Idaho could give scientists insight into ancient traces of life on Mars, posted-content, 2024.
Patalano, R., African Paleoecology and Human Evolution, Cambridge University Press, 2023.
Patalano, R., Preservation of plant-wax biomarkers in Deserts: Implications for Quaternary environment and human evolutionary studies, Journal of Quaternary Science. , 2024.
Favreau, J.,Soto, M.,Nair, R.,Bushozi, P. M.,Clarke, S.,DeBuhr, C. L.,Durkin, P. R.,Hubbard, S. M.,Inwood, J.,Itambu, M.,Larter, F.,Lee, P.,Marr, R. A.,Mwambwiga, A.,Patalano, R.,Tucker, L.,Mercader, J., Petrographic Characterization of Raw Material Sources at Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania, Frontiers in Earth Science, 2020.
Soto, M.,Favreau, J.,Campeau, K.,Carter, T.,Abtosway, M.,Bushozi, P. M.,Clarke, S.,Durkin, P. R.,Hubbard, S. M.,Inwood, J.,Itambu, M.,Koromo, S.,Larter, F.,Lee, P.,Mwambwiga, A.,Nair, R.,Olesilau, L.,Patalano, R.,Tucker, L.,Mercader, J., Fingerprinting of quartzitic outcrops at Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020.
Tucker, L.,Favreau, J.,Itambu, M.,Larter, F.,Mollel, N.,Mwambwiga, A.,Patalano, R.,Roberts, P.,Soto, M.,Mercader, J., Initial assessment of bioavailable strontium at Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania: Potential for early mobility studies, Journal of Archaeological Science, 2020.
Jha, G.,Vyas, V.,Jha, D. K.,Patalano, R.,Paladugu, R.,Ilgner, J.,Boivin, N.,Raj, R.,Krishnan, K.,Roberts, P.,Petraglia, M., On-site plant-wax biomarker analysis for assessing soil-organic-microbial degradation in archaeological contexts: A case study from Southern-India, iScience, 2025.
Itambu, M.,Ben Arous, E.,Fernandes, R.,Gallinaro, M.,Ilgner, J.,Lucas, M.,Roberts, P.,Scott, E.,Steinhof, A.,Patalano, R., Renewed Archaeological Research in Singida Region, Central Tanzania, African Archaeological Review, 2025.
Ben Arous, E.,Blinkhorn, J. A.,Elliot, S.,Kiahtipes, C. A.,N’zi, C. D.,Bateman, M. D.,Duval, M.,Roberts, P.,Patalano, R.,Blackwood, A. F.,Niang, K.,Kouamé, E. A.,Lebato, E.,Hallett, E.,Cerasoni, J. N.,Scott, E.,Ilgner, J.,Alonso Escarza, M.,Guédé, F. Y.,Scerri, E. M., Humans in Africa’s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago, Nature, 2025.
Ben Arous, E.,Aouadi, N.,Belhouchet, L.,Mekki, H.,Trabelsi, K.,Mabrouki, M.,Essid, E.,Fehri, N.,Shao, Q.,Falguères, C.,Lebreton, V.,Roberts, P.,Patalano, R., Sidi Zin Archaeological Project: new investigations into the Acheulean and Middle Stone Age in Tunisia, Antiquity, 2025.
RamÃrez-Pedraza, I.,Tornero, C.,Aouraghe, H.,Rivals, F.,Patalano, R.,Haddoumi, H.,Expósito, I.,RodrÃguez-Hidalgo, A.,Mischke, S.,van der Made, J.,Piñero, P.,Blain, H.,Roberts, P.,Jha, D. K.,AgustÃ, J.,Sánchez-Bandera, C.,Lemjidi, A.,Benito-Calvo, A.,Moreno-Ribas, E.,Oujaa, A.,Mhamdi, H.,Souhir, M.,Aissa, A. M.,Chacón, M. G.,Sala-Ramos, R., Arid, mosaic environments during the Plio-Pleistocene transition and early hominin dispersals in northern Africa, Nature Communications, 2024.
Hamilton, R.,Amano, N.,Bradshaw, C. J.,Saltré, F.,Patalano, R.,Penny, D.,Stevenson, J.,Wolfhagen, J.,Roberts, P., Forest mosaics, not savanna corridors, dominated in Southeast Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024.
Patalano, R.,Hu, J.,Leng, Q.,Liu, W.,Wang, H.,Roberts, P.,Storozum, M.,Yang, L.,Yang, H., Ancient Great Wall building materials reveal environmental changes associated with oases in northwestern China, Scientific Reports, 2022.
Patalano, R.,Hamilton, R.,Finestone, E.,Amano, N.,Heddell-Stevens, P.,Itambu, M.,Petraglia, M.,Roberts, P., Microhabitat Variability in Human Evolution, Frontiers in Earth Science, 2021.
Patalano, R.,Roberts, P.,Boivin, N.,Petraglia, M. D.,Mercader, J., Plant wax biomarkers in human evolutionary studies, Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 2021.
Mercader, J.,Akuku, P.,Boivin, N.,Bugumba, R.,Bushozi, P.,Camacho, A.,Carter, T.,Clarke, S.,Cueva-Temprana, A.,Durkin, P.,Favreau, J.,Fella, K.,Haberle, S.,Hubbard, S.,Inwood, J.,Itambu, M.,Koromo, S.,Lee, P.,Mohammed, A.,Mwambwiga, A.,Olesilau, L.,Patalano, R.,Roberts, P.,Rule, S.,Saladie, P.,Siljedal, G.,Soto, M.,Umbsaar, J.,Petraglia, M., Earliest Olduvai hominins exploited unstable environments ~ 2 million years ago, Nature Communications, 2021.
Patalano, R.,Zech, J.,Roberts, P., Leaf Wax Lipid Extraction for Archaeological Applications, Current Protocols in Plant Biology, 2020.
Patalano, R., Studying lake deposits in Idaho could give scientists insight into ancient traces of life on Mars, posted-content, 2024.
Patalano, R., African Paleoecology and Human Evolution, Cambridge University Press, 2023.
Patalano, R., Preservation of plant-wax biomarkers in Deserts: Implications for Quaternary environment and human evolutionary studies, Journal of Quaternary Science. , 2024.
Favreau, J.,Soto, M.,Nair, R.,Bushozi, P. M.,Clarke, S.,DeBuhr, C. L.,Durkin, P. R.,Hubbard, S. M.,Inwood, J.,Itambu, M.,Larter, F.,Lee, P.,Marr, R. A.,Mwambwiga, A.,Patalano, R.,Tucker, L.,Mercader, J., Petrographic Characterization of Raw Material Sources at Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania, Frontiers in Earth Science, 2020.
Soto, M.,Favreau, J.,Campeau, K.,Carter, T.,Abtosway, M.,Bushozi, P. M.,Clarke, S.,Durkin, P. R.,Hubbard, S. M.,Inwood, J.,Itambu, M.,Koromo, S.,Larter, F.,Lee, P.,Mwambwiga, A.,Nair, R.,Olesilau, L.,Patalano, R.,Tucker, L.,Mercader, J., Fingerprinting of quartzitic outcrops at Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020.
Tucker, L.,Favreau, J.,Itambu, M.,Larter, F.,Mollel, N.,Mwambwiga, A.,Patalano, R.,Roberts, P.,Soto, M.,Mercader, J., Initial assessment of bioavailable strontium at Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania: Potential for early mobility studies, Journal of Archaeological Science, 2020.
Awards and Honors
International Research Experiences for Students, 2025
Merit, 2025
Outstanding Service Award, 2024
International Research Experiences for Students, 2025
Merit, 2025
Outstanding Service Award, 2024
Teaching Interests
Through the Environmental Science and Sustainability and Climate Action Programs, our students are poised to fill many roles in the Green Talent Shortage, especially those relating to emissions disclosures, greenhouse gas accounting, waste circularity, the pitfalls of greenwashing, and environmental, social, and governance standards. Our goal is to have our program be a hub for innovation in environmental and sustainability education through evidence-based teaching.
The course I teach, which include both science-majors and non-science-majors, are Biology II: Organismal Biology (SCI 253), Directed Study in Science (SCI 497), Ecology (SCI 351), Human Impact on the Global Environment (SCI 371), Introduction to Environmental Sustainability (SCI 268), Issues in Environmental Science (SCI 463), Real World Applications for Sustainability and Climate Action (SCI 392), Research Methods in Science (SCI 390), and Science Internship (SCI 391).
The course I teach, which include both science-majors and non-science-majors, are Biology II: Organismal Biology (SCI 253), Directed Study in Science (SCI 497), Ecology (SCI 351), Human Impact on the Global Environment (SCI 371), Introduction to Environmental Sustainability (SCI 268), Issues in Environmental Science (SCI 463), Real World Applications for Sustainability and Climate Action (SCI 392), Research Methods in Science (SCI 390), and Science Internship (SCI 391).
Through the Environmental Science and Sustainability and Climate Action Programs, our students are poised to fill many roles in the Green Talent Shortage, especially those relating to emissions disclosures, greenhouse gas accounting, waste circularity, the pitfalls of greenwashing, and environmental, social, and governance standards. Our goal is to have our program be a hub for innovation in environmental and sustainability education through evidence-based teaching.
The course I teach, which include both science-majors and non-science-majors, are Biology II: Organismal Biology (SCI 253), Directed Study in Science (SCI 497), Ecology (SCI 351), Human Impact on the Global Environment (SCI 371), Introduction to Environmental Sustainability (SCI 268), Issues in Environmental Science (SCI 463), Real World Applications for Sustainability and Climate Action (SCI 392), Research Methods in Science (SCI 390), and Science Internship (SCI 391).
The course I teach, which include both science-majors and non-science-majors, are Biology II: Organismal Biology (SCI 253), Directed Study in Science (SCI 497), Ecology (SCI 351), Human Impact on the Global Environment (SCI 371), Introduction to Environmental Sustainability (SCI 268), Issues in Environmental Science (SCI 463), Real World Applications for Sustainability and Climate Action (SCI 392), Research Methods in Science (SCI 390), and Science Internship (SCI 391).
Research Interests
I am an archaeologist who specializes in early human paleoecology. My research lies at the intersection of paleoanthropology, paleoecology, and geochemistry and combines traditional archaeological field methods with laboratory analyses to study the relationships between environmental processes, cultural change, and human evolution.
My current research falls into three overarching themes:
Reconstruction of Pleistocene-Holocene climates and environments to look at the ways in which humans and our extinct ancestors responded physically, technologically, and culturally to differing ecological settings throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Application of innovative field and laboratory methods to address how Homo sapiens adaptations to climatic shifts and environmental reorganizations differed from that of other species.
Production of higher temporal and spatial resolution paleoecological datasets within multidimensional archaeological and paleoanthropological projects to understand biome- and intrabiome-scale ecological change and the influence on human origins.
My current research falls into three overarching themes:
Reconstruction of Pleistocene-Holocene climates and environments to look at the ways in which humans and our extinct ancestors responded physically, technologically, and culturally to differing ecological settings throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Application of innovative field and laboratory methods to address how Homo sapiens adaptations to climatic shifts and environmental reorganizations differed from that of other species.
Production of higher temporal and spatial resolution paleoecological datasets within multidimensional archaeological and paleoanthropological projects to understand biome- and intrabiome-scale ecological change and the influence on human origins.
I am an archaeologist who specializes in early human paleoecology. My research lies at the intersection of paleoanthropology, paleoecology, and geochemistry and combines traditional archaeological field methods with laboratory analyses to study the relationships between environmental processes, cultural change, and human evolution.
My current research falls into three overarching themes:
Reconstruction of Pleistocene-Holocene climates and environments to look at the ways in which humans and our extinct ancestors responded physically, technologically, and culturally to differing ecological settings throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Application of innovative field and laboratory methods to address how Homo sapiens adaptations to climatic shifts and environmental reorganizations differed from that of other species.
Production of higher temporal and spatial resolution paleoecological datasets within multidimensional archaeological and paleoanthropological projects to understand biome- and intrabiome-scale ecological change and the influence on human origins.
My current research falls into three overarching themes:
Reconstruction of Pleistocene-Holocene climates and environments to look at the ways in which humans and our extinct ancestors responded physically, technologically, and culturally to differing ecological settings throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Application of innovative field and laboratory methods to address how Homo sapiens adaptations to climatic shifts and environmental reorganizations differed from that of other species.
Production of higher temporal and spatial resolution paleoecological datasets within multidimensional archaeological and paleoanthropological projects to understand biome- and intrabiome-scale ecological change and the influence on human origins.