About Me
I graduated with a PhD degree in 1999 from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta USA with specialization in the fields of biogeochemistry and geohydrology. Since graduation, I have worked at full-time academic positions at Northwestern University, USA, University of Cape Town and currently I am a Professor (Marine and Environmental Geochemistry) at the University of Stellenbosch where I served as Head of Earth Sciences from 2012 to 2017. At Stellenbosch University, I have set up the Center for Trace and Environmental Biogeochemistry (TracEx) and my research focus is on biogeochemical dynamics in aquatic environments. I have presented my work in over 70 national and international conferences and have published numerous research articles in peer-reviewed international journals (impact factor 1.866–31.040) that have been cited 2000 times. I regularly supervise post-graduate students and have graduated a number of PhD and MSc students.
I am a Fellow of the International Congress of Chemistry and Environment, a Founder Member of AEON (Africa Earth Observatory Network), Board Member of the Marine Research Institute (MA-RE), University of Cape Town, Associate Member of Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics; University of the Western Cape and member of the Board of Governors for Somerset House (a private primary school). I have served on a number of national and international boards and committees: the Science Steering Committee of the International GEOTRACES Program (2012 - 2017), steering committees for WRC (South Africa) projects and NRF Earth Sciences evaluation panels. I was a Council member of the International association of GeoChemistry (2007 - 2012) and have served on the IAGC - Awards Committee (Vernadsky Medal and Ebelmen award), and Geochemical Society Awards Committee (CC Patterson Medal).
I have served as an Associate Editor for Applied Geochemistry (2003 - 2012), and currently I serve as an Associate editor of Frontiers in Environmental Science (Nature publishing group): Ground Water Resources and Management (2014 – present) and Review editor of Frontiers in Environmental Science (Nature publishing group): Marine observation (2015 - present).
I was awarded the CS Kiang Award in 1996 for Best Graduate Research in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. I also received the Devi Ahilya Baai Holker Gold Medal in 1984 for securing first position in BSc (all of the Science faculty) at Devi Ahilya Baai Holker University, India.
My teaching responsibilities include environmental geochemistry and marine geochemistry for third-year and honors students. I have active research collaborations with: Prof Satish Myneni (Princeton University), Dr J Routh, (Linköping University, Sweden); Dr Eva Bucciarellie (Univ. of Brest, France); Prof P Lam (University of California., USA); Dr E Viollier (University of Paris, France); Dr P Van Cappellen (University of Waterloo, Canada), Dr. P Monteiro, Dr Thato Mtshali (CSIR, South Africa), Prof. D Cowan (University of Pretoria, South Africa), Dr JS Compton, and Dr A Wilkinson (UCT, South Africa), Dr Susanne Fietz and Dr Cathy Clarke (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
I am a Fellow of the International Congress of Chemistry and Environment, a Founder Member of AEON (Africa Earth Observatory Network), Board Member of the Marine Research Institute (MA-RE), University of Cape Town, Associate Member of Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics; University of the Western Cape and member of the Board of Governors for Somerset House (a private primary school). I have served on a number of national and international boards and committees: the Science Steering Committee of the International GEOTRACES Program (2012 - 2017), steering committees for WRC (South Africa) projects and NRF Earth Sciences evaluation panels. I was a Council member of the International association of GeoChemistry (2007 - 2012) and have served on the IAGC - Awards Committee (Vernadsky Medal and Ebelmen award), and Geochemical Society Awards Committee (CC Patterson Medal).
I have served as an Associate Editor for Applied Geochemistry (2003 - 2012), and currently I serve as an Associate editor of Frontiers in Environmental Science (Nature publishing group): Ground Water Resources and Management (2014 – present) and Review editor of Frontiers in Environmental Science (Nature publishing group): Marine observation (2015 - present).
I was awarded the CS Kiang Award in 1996 for Best Graduate Research in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. I also received the Devi Ahilya Baai Holker Gold Medal in 1984 for securing first position in BSc (all of the Science faculty) at Devi Ahilya Baai Holker University, India.
My teaching responsibilities include environmental geochemistry and marine geochemistry for third-year and honors students. I have active research collaborations with: Prof Satish Myneni (Princeton University), Dr J Routh, (Linköping University, Sweden); Dr Eva Bucciarellie (Univ. of Brest, France); Prof P Lam (University of California., USA); Dr E Viollier (University of Paris, France); Dr P Van Cappellen (University of Waterloo, Canada), Dr. P Monteiro, Dr Thato Mtshali (CSIR, South Africa), Prof. D Cowan (University of Pretoria, South Africa), Dr JS Compton, and Dr A Wilkinson (UCT, South Africa), Dr Susanne Fietz and Dr Cathy Clarke (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
My WorkMy research focus is on biogeochemical dynamics in aquatic environments. In particular I am interested in understanding reaction kinetics and other controls over elemental cycling on the global as well as local scales. My approach includes combining field- and laboratory-based studies with numerical modeling to achieve a mechanistic understanding of biogeochemical reactions that influence elemental cycling in aquatic environments. More recently, substantial efforts have been put into establishing the South African node of the international GEOTRACES program with my research focus on the sources, sinks and internal cycling of dissolved micronutrients. Particular focus has been on speciation of iron nano-particles and other bioactive trace metals to understand their influence on marine primary productivity in the Southern Ocean.
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My Laboratory
TracEx laboratories are well equipped with state of the art instruments and working areas. They boast the only Class10, metal-free trace-clean laboratory in Africa with ultrahigh quality water supply for sample preparation and experimental work. The laboratory contains a seaFAST system for dealing with ultra-low concentration trace metals in sea-water, picoTrace workstations, anaerobic chamber, fume hoods and a picoTrace sediment digestion system. The laboratory is in the process of acquiring a prepFAST system for sample preparation for isotope analyses for Cu, Zn, Cd, Fe and Pb.
Analytical major equipment include ATR-FTIR, Cavity ring down spectrometer for measurement of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon isotopes, Spectrophotometer and Ion-Chromatograph. Other equipment such as ICP-MS (Agilent 8800, Agilent 7900 and Element II sector field), HPLC, UPLC-qTOF, ACQUITY UPC2, and GC-MS are available at Central Analytical Facilities (CAF) |