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Nicolas Dauphas

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Planetary scientist Nicolas Dauphas, 2024.

Nicolas Dauphas (born December 10, 1975) is a planetary scientist and isotope geochemist. He is a professor of geochemistry and cosmochemistry in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences and Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago.[1] Within cosmochemistry, his research focus is on isotope geochemistry.[1] He studies the origin and evolution of planets and other objects in the solar system by analyzing the natural distributions of elements and their isotopes using mass spectrometers.[2][3]

Career

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Born in Nantes in Brittany, France,[4] Dauphas received a B.Sc. degree from École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie in 1998. The same year, he obtained an M.Sc. from Centre de Recherches Pétrographiqueset Géochimiques, at the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine (French: L'Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine; INPL). In 2002, also from INPL, he was awarded a Ph.D. in geochemistry and cosmochemistry, working with Bernard Marty and Laurie Reisberg. He then completed his postdoctoral research at the Enrico Fermi Institute of the University of Chicago and the Field Museum of Natural History from 2002 to 2004, before joining the faculty at the University of Chicago in 2004.[5][6][7]

Recognition and awards

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In 2005, Dauphas was awarded Nier Prize of the Meteoritical Society which recognizes outstanding research in meteoritics and closely allied fields by young scientists.[8] In 2007, he was awarded the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship, given to the most promising early-career scientists and engineers, across the US.[9] He won the 2008 Houtermans Award, given by the European Association of Geochemistry for outstanding contributions to geochemistry.[10] He was awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) for "significant contributions to the geophysical sciences", and was selected as an AGU Fellow in 2011.[11] In 2014, he became a Fellow of the Meteoritical Society.[12] He was one of the finalists in 2017 for the Blavatnik National Awards.[13] In 2016, Dauphas received a named professorship from the University of Chicago as the Louis Block professor, Physical Sciences Division.[14][15][16] In 2019, Dauphas was elected Geochemical Fellow of the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry in recognition of his career contribution to the field of geochemistry.[17][18]

On April 30, 2024, it was announced that Nicolas Dauphas had been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.[19][4]

Research activities

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By analyzing the isotopic compositions of stable and radiogenic nuclides in meteorites, Dauphas investigates the timing and processes that lead to the formation of Solar System bodies and the establishment of habitable conditions on Earth and Mars. He used iron isotopes to study how the iron biogeochemical cycle of the Earth changed through time.[20] He established that Mars was formed rapidly, within the first 2~4 million years of the birth of the Solar System, which explains the much smaller size of Mars compared to Earth and Venus.[21] He first identified the mineralogical carrier of the 54Cr isotopic anomalies in meteorites as Cr-rich nano-sized spinels from supernovae.[22] He constrained the nature of Earth's accreting materials through time, using a novel approach that relies on the different affinities of elements with Earth's core, and showed that the materials formed Earth are from an isotopically homogeneous reservoir.[23][24]

Dauphas was part of the preliminary examination team for JAXA's Hayabusa2 mission,[25] which returned a fragment of Ryugu carbonaceous asteroid to Earth for scientific research. He was selected as a member of the Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group in 2022.[26][16]

Personal life

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Nicolas Dauphas married a fellow planetary scientist, Reika Yokochi. The couple had two children.[4] In February 2024, Dauphas posted to his Twitter (X) account that Yokochi had died from EGFR-positive lung cancer.[27]

Dauphas states that he is of "French-American citizenship".[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Geophysical Sciences: People". Department of the Geophysical Sciences. University of Chicago. Retrieved March 16, 2024. Nicolas Dauphas, Professor – Research Focus: Isotope geochemistry, cosmochemistry
  2. ^ "About Us: Origins Lab, UChicago – People". Origins Laboratory, The University of Chicago. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Dauphas, Nicolas (July 28, 2023). "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Bazylak, Stéphanie (July 2, 2024). "Nicolas Dauphas, un chimiste venu de l'espace" [Nicolas Dauphas, a chemiste from outer-space]. Ouest-France (in French). Rennes. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  5. ^ Marty, Bernard (August 30, 2005). "2005 Nier Prize for Nicolas Dauphas". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 40 (S8): A7–A8. Bibcode:2005M&PS...40....7M. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2005.tb00419.x. S2CID 128748675. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  6. ^ "Bernard Marty publications, indexed". Google Scholar (in French).
  7. ^ "Laurie Reisberg publications, indexed". Google Scholar (in French).
  8. ^ "Nier Prize Winners". meteoritical.org. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  9. ^ David and Lucile Packard Foundation–
  10. ^ "F.G. Houtermans Award". European Association of Geochemistry. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  11. ^ "Nicolas Dauphas, Professor, University of Chicago". American Geophysical Union Honors Program. Retrieved March 16, 2024. Awards and Honours: December 2018 – Reginald Daly Lecture; December 2011 – James B. Macelwane Medal Winner; January 2011 – Union Fellow "Honors Program". American Geophysical Union.
  12. ^
  13. ^ "America's Top Young Researchers Named Finalists for 2017 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists". Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  14. ^ "UChicago faculty members receive named, distinguished service professorships". University of Chicago News. February 17, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2023. Nicolas Dauphas, Professor of Geophysical Sciences and in the College and the Enrico Fermi Institute, has been named a Louis Block Professor.
  15. ^ Other sources which include "Louis Block professor":
  16. ^ a b "Professor Nicholas Dauphas Selected to Analyze Samples to Be Brought Back from Mars Moon". Department of the Geophysical Sciences: News and Events. UChicago. April 18, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023. Louis Block Professor Nicholas Dauphas has been selected by NASA to join the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission as a NASA-supported participating scientist.
  17. ^ "Prof. Nicolas Dauphas Elected Geochemical Fellow". Department of the Geophysical Sciences: News and Events. UChicago. February 13, 2019.
  18. ^ "Geochemistry Fellows". Geochemical Society. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  19. ^ "National Academy of Sciences Elects Members and International Members". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  20. ^ Hecht, Jeff. "Primordial rocks may hold the signature of life". New Scientist. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  21. ^ Brandon, Alan (May 25, 2011). "Building a planet in record time". Nature. 473 (7348): 460–461. doi:10.1038/473460a. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 21614071. S2CID 205064708.
  22. ^ Taylor, G. Jeffrey (November 2010). "PSRD: Supernova Confetti in Meteorites". Planetary Science Research Discoveries. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  23. ^ Carlson, Richard W. (January 16, 2017). "Earth's building blocks". Nature. 541 (7638): 468–469. doi:10.1038/541468a. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 28128233. S2CID 4386036.
  24. ^ "Samples From Asteroid Ryugu Help Us Learn About Earth's Origins". The National Tribune. December 19, 2022.
  25. ^ "Asteroid Samples Reveal Long Journey through the Solar System". Sky & Telescope. October 24, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  26. ^ Agle, D. C. "NASA, Partner Establish New Research Group for Mars Sample Return Program". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  27. ^ Dauphas, Nicolas [@TheCosmiChemist] (February 19, 2024). "It is with a heavy heart ..." (Tweet). Retrieved March 16, 2024 – via Twitter. my beloved spouse, Reika Yokochi, who left us at the age of 48 after a courageous battle with EGFR-positive lung cancer ...
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