Chris ReinhardAssistant Professor of Biogeochemistry
School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Google Scholar My background is originally in evolutionary biology, but my past and current research is probably best characterized as falling under the labels of astrobiology, geobiology, and Earth system evolution — I am fascinated and astonished by the observation that our planet has come to support a pervasive biosphere, and seek to reconstruct both how we got here and what this history has to teach us about the search for life beyond Earth. This involves combining techniques from aqueous geochemistry, geology, and biogeochemical modeling in an effort to reconstruct Earth surface environments as they have changed over long timescales through Earth's deep history, how this evolution has been coupled with the evolution of microbial and macroscopic life, and how this knowledge can be generalized or rescaled for application to other planetary environments. Dragos ZaharescuPostdoctoral Researcher
School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology | website | Dragos is interested in fundamental questions linking biology, geology, and planetary evolution across scales. His work at Georgia Tech involves innovative experimental approaches toward understanding the role of primitive microbial life on the geochemistry of weathering under anoxic atmospheres, hosted at the Biosphere 2 facility. Nadia SzeinbaumPostdoctoral Researcher
School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Nadia is broadly interested in the microbial ecophysiology of anaerobic carbon and manganese cycling in both modern and ancient environments, with diverse applications spanning biotechnology, the elucidation of modern microbial diversity, understanding planetary evolution, and searching for life beyond Earth. She utilizes molecular, genomic and proteomic analysis, and physiological characterization to uncover microbial identity and biochemical mechanisms of anaerobic carbon oxidation and manganese reduction in aquatic environments and ancient ocean analogues. Zijian LiPhD student
School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Zijian is working to develop and apply the stable thallium (Tl) isotope tracer, with a particular focus on constraining ocean oxygenation during the Paleoproterozoic, understanding the effects of burial alteration on Tl isotope signatures in sedimentary rocks, and the behavior of Tl in modern reducing sedimentary environments. Ashley BradyMS student (co-advised with Dr. Yuanzhi Tang)
School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Ashley is working on experimental approaches toward better understanding the stable chromium (Cr) isotope system in low-temperature environments, with a particular focus on fractionations attendant to Cr incorporation during precipitation and aging of carbonate phases and the potential role of reactive oxygen species in generating significant Cr isotope fractionation. Luis CortésRutt Bridges Scholar
School of Mechanical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Luis is working on database approaches toward better understanding the oxygen fugacity of Earth's mantle, the chemical evolution of the upper crust, and the role of mantle/crust evolution on structuring the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere. Camilla LiuPURA Undergraduate Researcher
School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Camilla is using the cGENIE Earth system model to explore the interaction of ocean nutrient levels atmospheric oxygen in controlling the ecological landscape faced by the earliest eukaryotic and animal life. |
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lab alumni:
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Kazumi Ozaki
NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow Project: Modeling the effects of different forms of photosynthesis on the stability of planetary climate and the redox state of Earth's early atmosphere. Now a faculty member at Toho University | website | Chloe Stanton
Rutt Bridges Undergraduate Scholar (co-advised with Dr. Jennifer Glass) Project: Reconstructing the Proterozoic nitrous oxide cycle by combining experimental kinetics and atmospheric photochemistry. Now a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geosciences at Penn State | website | Kyle Rybacki
Postdoctoral Researcher Project: Stable chromium (Cr) and thallium (Tl) isotopes in Pleistocene carbonate sediments and Archean sedimentary rocks as tracers of ocean-atmosphere oxygen levels. Now at the Bureau of Land Management, Carlsbad, NM | website | Rich Gaschnig
Postdoctoral Researcher Project: Mo and U isotopes in igneous rocks as tracers of deep sea redox and mantle recycling Now on the faculty at University of Massachusetts, Lowell | website | Josh Stanford
MS Student Project: Using Mo isotopes to fingerprint Paleoproterozoic oxygen oases Now pursuing K-12 education in the great state of California |