CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

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• Geochemical and cosmochemical behavior of the elements.

• In-situ analyses of elements at ppb (nanograms/gram) concentration levels.

• Partitioning of Highly Siderophile Elements (HSE, including Platinum Group elements (PGE), Re and Au) in natural (geological and meteoritic samples) and synthetic systems. 

• Li isotopic studies of: surface processes, continental crust formation and evolution, crust-mantle recycling processes, and meteorites.

• High resolution analyses of HSE abundances in meteorites and terrestrial rocks using high-pressure, carius tube decomposition and isotope dilution.

• Composition, formation and evolution of the continental crust and lithospheric mantle.

• Studies documenting the early chemical and isotopic evolution of the Earth's mantle

• Chemical and isotopic studies that document the evolution of Iron meteorites

• Element partitioning in silicate, oxide, carbonate, sulfide and metal systems: pushing the detection limits of laser ablation methods.

• Understanding the early differentiation and evolution of the mantle via solution and laser ablation analyses of komatiites and the uncommon findings preserved fresh olivine crystals.

• Studies of the abundances and partitioning of chalcophile elements in magmatic systems

• Archeological studies of fossil and material remains to understand provenance and mobility of ancient peoples

• Chemical analyses, including documenting spatial resolution via laser ablation, of heavy elements in tissues.

• Forensic chemical and isotopic fingerprinting of materials for attribution, provenance and environmental remediation.

• Documenting the fissionogenic isotopic abundances of spent nuclear fuel rods for understanding burning processes in reactors.