Jennifer Pournelle is Research Associate Professor at the School of the Earth, Ocean & Environment of the University of South Carolina.

Her research focuses on the environmental dimensions of social and cultural change in wetland environments, especially regarding urban origins and sustainability in deltaic settings.

Jennifer Pournelle is a Visiting Fellow at CAS in December 2017 in the context of the research focus "Settlements between Diversity and Homogeneity" upon invitation from Prof. Dr. Karen Radner. On 13 December she will give a talk about "First Cities Early Urban Development and Urban Sustainability in Southern Iraq".