Dr. Anthony Chappaz is a Professor of Molecular Geochemistry in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Central Michigan University. Dr. Chappaz earned his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Grenoble Alpes, his M.S. in Chemistry and Microbiology of Water from the University of Poitiers and his Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the University of Quebec. Following his doctorate, he was awarded a prestigious Agouron Fellowship to join the University of California – Riverside as a postdoctoral researcher. Since 2011, he joined Central Michigan University where he currently works as a full professor of Molecular Geochemistry within the Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. His research program is vast and deals with trace element across disciplines: Earth’s history, critical metals, food security, lakes, and medical applications. He acts also as the Director of the STARLAB, a state-of-the-art analytical facility that specializes in analyzing trace elements in geological, environmental, and engineered matrixes. Dr. Chappaz has been advocating for reinventing the Industry – Academic partnerships and was recently named the first Executive Director of the CMU Research Corporation – Innovation & Partnerships. He is also the CEO of a star-up company based on his academic research. Dr. Chappaz has an adjunct position within the Dept. of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto.

Join us to hear Dr. Chappaz' seminar:

Molecular Geochemistry: From Atomic-Scale Mechanisms to Earth-System Processes

Chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, and rhenium occupy an unusual position in geochemistry. They are elements of growing strategic and critical-mineral relevance, while also serving as important tracers of redox conditions and environmental change throughout Earth history. In both contexts, their interpretation depends on understanding the molecular-scale processes controlling their mobility, transformation, sequestration, and isotopic expression. In this seminar, I will present a molecular geochemistry framework for connecting atomic-scale mechanisms to larger-scale geochemical and Earth-system processes. Using Cr, V, Mo, and Re as complementary case studies, I will show how integrating ultra-trace elemental measurements, spatially resolved mapping, synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy, and isotope geochemistry can resolve elemental speciation, host phases, spatial distributions, and fixation pathways. Particular emphasis will be placed on how these pathways influence isotopic fractionation and the interpretation of paleo-redox records. Together, these examples demonstrate that bulk concentrations and isotope ratios can mask substantial mineralogical and chemical heterogeneity. Resolving the molecular-scale origin of these signals provides a more mechanistic basis for reconstructing ancient environments and understanding the behavior, concentration, and potential recoverability of strategically important elements across the Earth system.