Research

I have a long term interest in the kinetics and thermodynamics of mineral interactions with natural fluids. Although I have extensive expertise in experimental and analytical work in the laboratory, I am currently focused on (1) the development of kinetic models for the study of mineral growth, dissolution, nucleation, recrystallization and related processes, and (2) the use of these tools to drive the development of fundamental theories governing mineral properties and behavior. I see two current problems in this area of geochemistry: first, despite an extensive and increasing catalog of published observations from both the laboratory and the field, we have but a limited description of how processes such as growth and dissolution operate at a mechanistic, molecular level. This limitation can be addressed through vigorous development of computer-based simulations (molecular dynamics, kinetic Monte Carlo, etc.). This approach harnesses inexpensive computing power to produce simulations of basic processes over a range of time and space scales. Rather than first produce observations in the laboratory and then seek to understand these observations in the context of existing models, it is more beneficial to first produce simulations using available energetic parameterizations. The results of such simulations can then be compared with existing experimental results; a disparity between observed experimental and simulation results can then drive selection of new parameters in a recursive, feedback approach. This approach can incoporate biological mediation reactions and processes as well. Second, these molecular scale results must be linked to the complex, phenomenological, process-level observations in the field. This extrapolation across time and space scales requires a new approach that incorporates the fundamentally stochastic nature of heterogeneous reaction networks.