Overview
The
Aqueous Geochemistry and Mineralogy Group, led by Prof. Jeff Catalano,
studies the geochemistry and mineralogy of terrestrial and planetary
aquatic systems. Our interests span the fields
of Environmental Biogeochemistry, Planetary Geochemistry, and
Geobiology. The group investigates processes
that control the distribution and cycling of major and trace elements
in modern and
ancient systems. These processes are controlled by chemical
interactions between water and rocks, organic matter, and organisms.
The goal of the group is to understand geochemical phenomena such as
biogeochemical element cycling, contaminant fate, and mineral
weathering and transformations on Earth, Mars, and other planetary
bodies. To accomplish these goals we
apply laboratory-based analytical and microscopy tools,
synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopic and scattering methods, and
geochemical modeling techniques.
News
August 22, 2022: Welcome to new graduate students Kaylee Neat and Emily Wright!
August 11, 2022: Installation of the easyXAFS 300+ X-ray absorption and emission spectrometer is complete!
June 2, 2022: Congratulations to graduate student Robert Kupper on the successful defense of his Ph.D. dissertation!
May 2, 2022: Welcome to new postdoctoral researcher Yihang Fang!
February 22, 2022: Congratulations to graduate student Jinshu Yan on the successful defense of her Ph.D. dissertation!
October 1, 2021: Congratulations to graduate student Kaushik Mitra on the successful defense of his Ph.D. dissertation!
September 1,
2021: The group was selected for funding by the DOE Critical Minerals
& Materials program. We were also awarded a grant from the NSF
Major Research Instrumentation program to purchase an easyXAFS 300+ XAS-XES spectrometer.
August 31, 2021: We are searching for two new postdocs! Come join us! Information here.
January 20, 2021: The website for our Analytical Biogeochemistry Laboratory is now live. New users are welcome!
November 9, 2020: Prof. Catalano has been named a fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America.
October 20-23, 2020: Graduate student Robert Kupper and Prof. Catalano had the group's first remote experiment at a synchrotron.
March 31,
2020: The group was selected for funding by the NASA Mars Data
Analysis Program for a project led by collaborator Dr. Scott VanBommel.
August 15, 2019: The group welcomes new graduate students Emily Millman and Abigail Knight.
July 3, 2019: Graduate student Kaushik Mitra has been awarded a NASA FINESST fellowship.
April 9, 2019: Graduate student Greg Ledingham has been awarded a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
January 1,
2019: The group is part of a team of 16 scientists funded to study
prebiotic chemistry on the early Earth through the Earth First Origins project, led by Washington University alumna Prof. Karyn Rogers.
December 8, 2018: Prof. Catalano has been named the next Executive Editor-in-Chief of Geochimica et Cosmochimia Acta. See the announcement on the Geochemical Society website and in Washington University's Record.
