Reel Science: Underland
Mar
4
2026
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Melissa Kemp
Mar
4
2026
-
Melissa Kemp
Description
Adapted from Robert Macfarlane’s bestselling book, “Underland” is a visually stunning documentary about the hidden worlds beneath Earth’s surface. Before the film, enjoy interactive activities from the Texas Field Station Network and UT’s Kemp Lab, and afterwards hear from University of Texas at Austin biologist and geoscientist Melissa Kemp, sharing insights from her own subterranean research and taking audience questions.
About the Film:
An official selection at 2025’s Tribeca Film Festival, “Underland” reveals realms of mystery and wonder from deep below the Earth, from ancient caves to flooded storm drains to research labs working to describe some of the most mysterious forces in the universe. Narrated with poetic depth by Sandra Hüller and directed by Rob Petit, this sensory journey combines breathtaking imagery with profound questions about humanity’s place on Earth’s fragile surface. “Underland” is part visual masterpiece, part environmental statement and part philosophical inquiry—challenging perceptions and inspiring a deeper connection to the planet’s many unseen dimensions.
Schedule:
5:30 p.m.: Interactive activities from the Texas Field Station Network and Kemp Lab begin
7 p.m.: “Underland” film screening
8:25 p.m.: Science talk and audience Q&A with Melissa Kemp
9 p.m.: Event concludes
Parking: Get Directions from The Long Center
At Reel Science, audiences hear from leading researchers and experts and enjoy science-themed films through a partnership with The Long Center for Performing Arts and The University of Texas College of Natural Sciences. Each event features a presentation from a UT scientist and a science-themed documentary from Sandbox Films, the Oscar-nominated production studio that illuminates the art and beauty of scientific inquiry: humankind’s weird, messy, brilliant way of navigating the world.
About the Speakers
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Melissa Kemp
Associate Professor
Department of Integrative Biology, UT AustinMelissa Kemp is an evolutionary biologist who uses the fossil record and historical data to investigate species responses to global change phenomena. Appointed also in the Department of Earth and ...
Melissa Kemp is an evolutionary biologist who uses the fossil record and historical data to investigate species responses to global change phenomena. Appointed also in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UT Austin, she earned her B.A. in biology from Williams College and her Ph.D. in biology from Stanford University, where she was a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow, a Stanford DARE Fellow and a National Geographic Young Explorer. She then served as an NSF Environmental Fellow at Harvard University, where she completed her postdoctoral research at the Harvard Center for the Environment. There she investigated how past global change forces have altered species distributions in Anolis lizards, helping reveal population trajectories before, during and after environmental perturbations and providing a framework for evaluating future range shifts. She has served on the faculty of the Department of Integrative Biology at UT Austin since 2018, publishing widely on topics including conservation and vertebrate paleobiology, community ecology through deep time, biological responses to global change, stories of ancient resilience and extinction dynamics. Her research in Texas and in the Caribbean illuminates trends from the last roughly 2.5 million years that can shed light on major questions about the roles of climate and human migration in determining the fate of various species.
Location
Long Center for the Performing Arts, Rollins Theatre
701 W Riverside Dr