Steven L. Goldstein

Steven L. Goldstein during field work in the Aleutian Islands, AK

Steven L. Goldstein
Born	East New York (Brooklyn), NY
Alma mater	Columbia University Harvard University
Known for	Geochemistry
Scientific career
Fields	Earth science
Institutions	Max Planck Institute for Chemistry Columbia University

Steven L. Goldstein is an American geochemist. He is the Higgins Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University and interim director of the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory.

Education

Goldstein received his B.A. from Columbia College in Chemistry with a minor in Philosophy. He earned his M.A. from Harvard University in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Goldstein earned his PhD from Columbia University under the mentorship of Keith O’Nions. During this time, O’Nions moved from Columbia University to the University of Cambridge, but he continued to oversee Goldstein’s PhD. Goldstein’s thesis is titled, “Isotopic studies of continental and marine sediments, and igneous rocks of the Aleutian Island arc.” His other dissertation committee members included Alan Zindler, Charles Langmuir, Wallace Broecker, and Karl Turekian.

Career and Research

Upon completing his PhD, Goldstein was hired as a Staff Scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry from 1985-1996. In 1996, he joined the faculty in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University. He became an Associate Professor with tenure at Columbia University in 1998, Full Professor in 2005, and was named the Higgens Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences in 2016. From 2006-2014, Goldstein held the roles of Associate Department Chair, Department Chair, and Past Chair in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. He then became the Associate Director for the Geochemistry Division of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory from 2014-2020. In 2020, Goldstein served as the Director of the Division of Earth Sciences for the National Science Foundation, ending the positing in 2022. In 2023 he was named the Interim Director of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Goldstein is a professional member of the American Geophysical Union, European Association of Geochemistry, European Geophysical Union, Geochemical Society, and Geological Society of America. He has served on the Editorial Advisory Board of Chemical Geology (1990-2002) and Earth and Planetary Science Letters (1991-2004) and as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (1995-1997) and Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (2000-2002).

Research Focus

Goldstein’s research uses geochemistry, particularly naturally radioactive isotope systems, to understand the timing of events in Earth’s history and as tracers for fundamental Earth processes. His breadth of research applies geochemistry across time and space: from early Earth history to climate change, and from deep magmatism to ocean circulation.

As of 2023, Goldstein has published over 170 peer-reviewed articles and received over 10 million dollars in grant funding.

Steven L. Goldstein at the North Pole

Field Work and Research Cruise Experience

While completing his MA at Harvard University, Goldstein attended a 6-week geology field camp through the University of Kansas based in Cañon City, CO. During his PhD, Goldstein conducted field work in South America and the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

Since then, he has led field work across five continents. He served as Co-Principal Investigator on the 2001 AMORE (Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Expedition) research cruise aboard the Healey, during which he visited the North Pole. He also served as Co-Principal Investigator on the ICDP (International Continental Scientific Drilling Program) Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project, which recovered a continuous sedimentary record from the deepest seafloor of the Dead Sea.

Teaching and Public Scholarship

Goldstein strongly believes in the value of a humanities education alongside the sciences, a belief reflected in his work establishing the Frontiers of Science course within the Columbia University Core Curriculum. At Columbia University, he teaches popular undergraduate courses in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences that bridge the classroom and the field. This includes the introductory Earth Science course: “Earth’s Environmental Systems: The Solid Earth”. This course brings undergraduate students on a field trip to Central Park to convey that geology is everywhere, even among the skyscrapers of Manhattan. He uses the exposed rock outcrops to uncover 500 million years of Earth history, from the multiple cycles of Appalachian Mountain building to the glacial grooves and erratics of the last ice age. He also teaches a “Field Geology” class for majors, in which students attend a spring break field trip to Barbados and Italy.

He has also has given multiple public lectures, including “How Old is the Earth and How do we Know,” at venues such as Nevis Laboratories and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House.

Awards and Honors

Goldstein was inducted as a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2009 and as a fellow of the Geochemical Society and European Association of Geochemistry in 2018.

In 2018, he was honored with the prestigious Norman L. Bowen Award and Lectureship by the American Geophysical Union for his contributions to volcanology, geochemistry, or petrology. In his citation, colleague and mentor Dr. Charles Langmuir wrote of Goldstein:

“For what accomplishments has Steve Goldstein received the Bowen Award? The answers from the community would be diverse. For paleoceanographers, it would be because he pioneered Nd isotopes as an ocean circulation tracer. For those interested in continents, it would be his contributions to understanding continental growth. For mantle geochemists, it would be about the origin of mantle isotope heterogeneity and processes at ridges and convergent margins. Across these communities, the view would be that the honor was overdue, while knowledge of his contributions in other areas would be unlikely to be fully appreciated.”

Goldstein has also earned multiple awards recognizing excellence in his teaching. In 2005, he earned the Columbia University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award, awarded by the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Graduate Student Committee for his graduate course, “Isotope Geochemistry”. In 2010, Goldstein received the Columbia University Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award in honor of his accomplishments in the classroom and as a researcher. In 2022, he was awarded the Columbia University Great Teacher Award by the Society of Columbia Graduates “to recognize and shine a light on great undergraduate teaching at Columbia.”

Personal life

Goldstein was born in East New York (Brooklyn), NY. His father served in WWII and then worked for the FAA and the US Navy. His mother was a homemaker and held part-time jobs. When Goldstein was young, his family moved to Greenbelt, MD and then Bowie, MD, where he graduated from Bowie High School.

Steven L. Goldstein in Los Angeles, CA

Goldstein was the first of his immediate family to attend college and earn a PhD. He began his undergraduate degree at University of Maryland, College Park for one year, then moved to McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, finally transferring to Columbia University in his junior year. He graduated with a B.A. in Chemistry and Philosophy, though he knew he would pursue a career in Earth Science. When his PhD advisor moved from Columbia University to University of Cambridge, UK, Goldstein split his time between the two institutions.

During his PhD, Goldstein spent significant time in South America where he traveled, assisted in Peace Corps activities, and collected river sediment samples that would eventually lead to his most highly cited publication. While in Paraguay, Goldstein contracted leishmaniasis from a sand flea bite after his vehicle broke down and he had to spend a night on the side of the road while helping to transport locals for medical care. He was eventually diagnosed and treated with antimony heavy metals at the Hospital for Tropical Disease in London, UK.

Goldstein enjoys music, hiking, biking, and travel. He is conversational in German and Spanish. He is married to Dr. Kerstin Lehnert, Doherty Senior Research Scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and Director of the Geoinformatics Research Group. Both are huge Bruce Springteen fans.