NEWS

1 MAY 2024 — Congratulations to Dr. Ren Marquez, who successfully defended his PhD today!

24 APR 2024 — Warmest congratulations to graduate student Ren Marquez, on receiving the Pellas-Ryder Award! You can check out the paper here!

31 MAR 2024 — Version 2.0.9 of the Uranium Isotope Database posted on the UID page!

1 FEB 2024 — Postdoctoral researcher Théo Tacail joins the Isotoparium. Welcome, Théo!

25 JAN 2024 — Warmest congratulations to graduate student Tony Yap, on receiving the “Best Student-Led Paper Award” from Icarus! You can check out the paper here!

18 JAN 2024 — Our new paper, led by graduate student Ren Marquez, on Snapshots of an Evolving Solar Nebula Recorded in Nucleosynthetic Sr and Ba Signatures of Early Condensates was just published in ApJL. Check it out here!

15 JAN 2024 — The Isotoparium starts the year on a strong note, with three papers published in the same issue of GCA today!

• Our new paper, led by collaborators Linqing Huang and Sarah Aarons, showing that High-precision zirconium isotope analysis of Pacific seawater reveals large mass-dependent fractionations in the ocean. Check it out here!

• Our new paper, led by graduate student Haoyu Li, Exploring uranium isotopes in shark teeth as a paleo-redox proxy. Check it out here!

• And a new paper, led by collaborators Lisa Zieman and Mauricio Ibañez-Mejia, discussing Zirconium stable isotope fractionation during intra-crustal magmatic differentiation in an active continental arc. Check it out here!

1 DEC 2023 — Our new paper, led by postdoc Frankie Pavia, discussing Uranium isotopes as tracers of serpentinite weathering was just published in EPSL. Check it out here!

16 NOV 2023 — New paper, led by collaborators Justin Hu on the Determination of Rare Earth Element isotopic compositions using sample-standard bracketing and double-spike approaches just published in ACS Earth and Space Science. Check it out here!

15 NOV 2023 — Venus In Situ Sample Capture Mission study report was just posted on the Caltech's Keck Institute for Space Studies website. This two-part workshop held in 2021 and 2022 counted several GPS faculty, including Prof. Tissot.

In a nutshell: It's doable and we should do it. Also, let's go the extra (80.6 million) mile and bring back samples to Earth!

1 NOV 2023 — Our new paper, led by graduate student Emily Miaou, showing that Copper isotope ratios in serum do not track cancerous tumor evolution, but organ failure was just published in Metallomics. Check it out here!

15 OCT 2023 — New paper, led by collaborators Joseph Kulenguski and Geoffrey Gilleaudeau discussing New constraints on the global spread of marine anoxia and organic carbon burial across Cretaceous OAE 2 in southern Mexico just published in P-cubed. Check it out here!

9 OCT 2023 — Graduate student Hayward Melton joins the Isotoparium. Welcome, Hayward!

4 OCT 2023 — Our new paper, led by Prof. Tissot, reporting on A community-led calibration of the Zr isotope reference materials: NIST candidate RM 8299 and SRM 3169 was just published in JAAS. Check it out here!

24 SEPT 2023 — Goodbye party for Michael Kipp, who will start as Assistant Professor at Duke University next January! Congratulations, Mike!

15 SEPT 2023 — Our new paper, led by former postdoc Gerrit Budde, discussing Spurious molybdenum isotope anomalies resulting from non-exponential mass fractionation was just published in Geochemistry. Check it out here!

1 SEP 2023 — New paper, led by collaborator Yves Marrocchi, discussing Iron Isotope Constraints on the Structure of the Early Solar System just published in Astrophysical Journal Letters. Check it out here!

25 JUL 2023 — New paper, led by graduate student Teng Ee Yap, proposing that The NC-CC dichotomy [can be] explained by significant addition of CAI-like dust to the Bulk Molecular Cloud (BMC) just published in Icarus. Check it out here!

5 JUL 2023 — New paper, led by postdoc Weiyi Liu, showing that I/Pu reveals Earth mainly accreted from volatile-poor differentiated planetesimals just published in Science Advances. Check out the paper and the news release!

22 JUN 2023 — Prof. Tissot is giving a talk at the GeoPetro Seminar at ETH.

4-9 JUN 2023 — Prof. Tissot and graduate student Teng Ee Yap were amongst the 50 invited participants to the ISSI: Workshop on "Evolution of the Solar System: Constraints from Meteorites" in Bern. A wonderful week of stimulating talks and conversations!

29 MAY 2023 — Goodbye party for Nicole Nie, who will start as Assistant Professor at MIT next month! Congratulations, Nicole!

27 MAY 2023 — Our new paper, led by collaborators Heather Kirkpatrick and T. Mark Harrison, testing Temperature and co-crystallization effects on Zr isotopes was just published in GCA. Check it out here!

28 MAR 2023 — Our new paper, led by collaborators Hannah Tompkins and Mauricio Ibañez-Mejia, and showing that Zircon growth experiments reveal limited equilibrium Zr isotope fractionation in magmas was just published in GPL. Check it out here!

5 MAR 2023 — Version 2.0.8 of the Uranium Isotope Database posted on the UID page!

16 FEB 2023 — New paper, led by postdoc Nicole Nie, evaluating the origins of Rubidium and potassium isotopic variations in chondrites and Mars just published in GCA. Check it out here!

17 JAN 2023 — The UID companion paper, led by graduate student Haoyu Li, is published in Chemical Geology. Check it out here!

30 DEC 2022 — Version 2.0 of the Uranium Isotope Database posted on the UID page!

11 DEC 2022 — You like zircon, fO2, and/or X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, then come check out the beautiful work of grad student Shane Houchin at the AGU 22’!
Tue, 12pm, McCormick Place - S102cd

1 DEC 2022 — Our new paper, led by Prof. Tissot, building The case for the angrite parent body as the archetypal first-generation planetesimal: Large, reduced and Mg-enriched was just published in GCA. Check it out here!

9 NOV 2022 — Prof. Tissot is giving a talk at the inaugural Forming and Exploring Habitable Worlds International Meeting.

1 NOV 2022 — Our new paper, led by postdoc Mike Kipp, reappraising the 238U, 235U and 234U in seawater and deep-sea corals was just published in GCA. Check it out here!

3 OCT 2022 — Prof. Tissot is giving the GPS Division Seminar at Caltech.

1 OCT 2022 — Our new paper, led by postdoc Gerrit Budde, discussing the Origin of the analytical 183W effect and its implications for tungsten isotope analyses was just published in JAAS. Check it out here!

10 JUL 2022 — We are presenting several posters and talks at Goldschmidt next week. Come by to say hi and see what we’ve been up to:

• Talk: Apparent Mo isotope anomalies resulting from non-exponential mass fractionation by Budde et al. (Mon 11, 09:30 - 09:45, Room 319)

• Talk: What drives copper isotope effects in the serum of cancer patients? Mechanistic insights from box modeling by Miaou & Tissot (Tue 12, 08:30 - 08:45, Room 321)

• Talk: A shale-hosted selenium isotope record of Paleozoic ocean oxygenation by Kipp et al. (Tue 12, 09:00 - 09:15, Room 304)

• Talk: Fractionation of iron isotopes between strongly peraluminous granites and their sedimentary sources: a case study of the Archean Ghost Lake batholith by Bucholz et al. (Tue 12, 09:45 - 10:15, Room 319)

• Poster: Search for the carriers of p-process anomalies in Early Solar System condensates by Marquez et al. (Tue 12, Poster #109)

• Talk: Shark Teeth: a new U isotopic archive for paleoredox reconstruction? by Li et al. (Wed 13, 10:00 - 10:15, Room 323C)

• Talk: Experimental constraints on Zr stable isotope fractionation during magmatic zircon crystallization by Tompkins et al. (Wed 13, 10:45 - 11:00, Room 319)

• Talk: The oxidation state of uranium in zircon by U M4-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy by Houchin et al. (Wed 13, 11:15-11:30, Room 319)

• Poster: Iron isotopes in mantle and cumulate xenoliths from Adak Island, Central Aleutians by Sosa et al. (Wed 13, Poster #176)

• Poster: Establishing and calibrating the Zr isotope Reference Material (iRM) by Tissot et al. (Wed 13, Poster #180)

• Poster: Controls on the Zr stable isotope composition and variability of Earth’s upper mantle by Ibañez-Mejia et al. (Wed 13, Poster #181)

• Talk: How do I and Pu partition during core formation? Constraints from first-principles molecular dynamics and implications by Liu et al. (Thu 14, 16:30 - 16:45, Room 318)

1 JUL 2022 — Postdoctoral researcher Rosa Grigoryan joins the Isotoparium. Welcome, Rosa!

17 MAY 2022 — Prof. Tissot is giving the Geological Sciences Seminar in the Department of Geological Sciences at Stanford.

12 MAY 2022 — New paper led by collaborator Ma and reporting the discovery of New minerals (paqueite and burnettite) in type A inclusions from Allende, just published in MAPS. Check it out here!

3 MAY 2022 — Prof. Tissot is giving an invited talk on Nucleosynthetic anomalies in the Solar System at the Origins of Isotopes Workshop (IReNA).

22 APR 2022 — Prof. Tissot had the pleasure to collaborate with the Veritasium YouTube channel, to help them feature the incredible story of leaded fuel and Clair Patterson.

12 APR 2022 — New paper led by collaborator Baziotis and describing Unique evidence of fluid alteration in the Kakowa (L6) ordinary chondrite just published in Scientific Report. Check it out here!

7 MAR 2022 — The new issue of Elements, guest edited by Prof. Tissot and Prof. Ibañez-Mejia is now officially published. Check out the amazing work the authors did here! Cover credit to Guillermo Torres-Carreño.

See also the companion website for a periodic table of heavy stable isotopes!

25-27 FEB 2022 — Lab retreat at Bear Mountain for a weekend of skiing, hiking and science talks!

17 JAN 2022 — Postdoctoral researcher Nicole Nie joins the Isotoparium. Welcome, Nicole!

3 JAN 2022 — Postdoctoral researcher Roxana Shafiee joins the Isotoparium. Welcome, Roxana!

1 JAN 2021 — Our new paper, led by postdoc Mike Kipp, introducing Inverse methods for consistent quantification of seafloor anoxia using uranium isotope data from marine sediments was just published in EPSL. Check it out here and download the software for use in your research!

1 DEC 2021 — New paper describing A comparison between AMP-PAN, cation-exchange, and Sr resins for the purification of Rb for accurate isotopic analysis by MC-ICPMS just published in JAAS. Check it out here!

14 OCT 2021 — Prof. Tissot is named a Packard Fellow in the 2021 Class!

8 OCT 2021 — New paper describing An optimized chromatographic purification scheme for routine high-precision Nd isotope analyses just published in JAAS. Check it out here!

8 OCT 2021 — New paper from our collaborators at City of Hope, on Protein phosphatase 2A as a therapeutic target in small cell lung cancer, just published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. Check it out here!

30 SEP 2021 — Prof. Tissot is giving an invited talk on Nucleosynthetic anomalies in the Solar System at the Origins of Isotopes Workshop (IReNA).

25 AUG 2021 — New paper on The effects of hydrodynamical sorting of Ti and Zr isotope systematics just published in GCA. Check it out here!

9 JULY 2021 — New paper published in Science Advances reporting evidence for Survival of presolar p-nuclide carriers in the nebula. Check it out here!

9 JUNE 2021 — Ren Marquez has been awarded a NASA FINESST fellowship to study the Early Solar System’s architecture. Congratulations, Ren!

1 MAY 2021 — New paper on The uranium isotopic record of shales and carbonates through geologic time just published in GCA. Check it out here!

8 MAR 2021 — Prof. Tissot is giving the Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry seminar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

21 JAN 2021 — New paper reporting REE distribution coefficients between α-HIBA and AG50W-X8 resin just published in ACS Earth Space Chemistry. Check it out here!

6 JAN 2021 — New paper published in Science Advances on how REE isotopes testify to major heating events in the nascent solar system. Check it out here!

1 JAN 2021 — New paper on the drivers of Zr isotopes in Zr-bearing phases and melts just published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. Check it out here!

SEPT 2020 — Graduate students Shane Houchin and Benjamin Thyer join the Isotoparium. Welcome to you both!

17 JUNE 2020 — Haoyu Li has been awarded a NASA FINESST fellowship to study the Early Solar System chronology. Congratulations, Haoyu!

JUNE 2020 — The Isotoparium reopens, in compliance with Caltech’s COVID guidelines.

7 MAY 2020 — New paper just published in the JAAS on Zirconium stable isotope analysis of zircon by MC-ICP-MS: Methods and application to evaluating intra-crystalline zonation in a zircon megacryst. Check it out here!

13 MAR 2020 — … lab shut down due to COVID-19 pandemic and a “Safe At Home” order. 

9 MAR 2020 — Lab construction is now 100% complete. Gearing up for grand-opening …

27 JAN 2020 — New paper published in Nature Astronomy reporting Evidence of presolar SiC in the Allende Curious Marie CAI. Check it out here!

18 DEC 2019 — New paper published in Science Advances reporting Extreme Zr stable isotope fractionation during magmatic fractional crystallization. Check it out here!

7 DEC 2019 — We are presenting a few posters and a talk at AGU next week. Come by to say hi and see what we’ve been up to:

• Talk: The Zirconium Stable Isotope Systematics of Continental Crust Formation in an Active Continental Arc by Zieman et al. (V54A-03, Friday, 13, 16:30 - 16:45, Moscone South - 152)

• Poster: Single-grain 238U/235U measurements in Early Earth zircons: Implications for the Hadean environment, magmatic differentiation and geochronology by Tissot et al. (Wednesday, 11, Moscone South - Poster Hall)

• Poster: The Effects of Partial Melting and Re-fertilization in the Zr Stable Isotope Composition of Earth’s Upper Mantle by Ibañez-Mejia et al. (Friday 13, Moscone South - Poster Hall)

• Poster: Does equilibrium zircon crystallization drive Zr stable isotope fractionation in magmatic systems? An ab-initio investigation by Méheut et al. (Friday 13, Moscone South - Poster Hall)

• Poster: Zr Isotope Variations in Zircon as an Indicator of Magmatic Differentiation by Kirkpatrick et al. (Friday 13, Moscone South - Poster Hall)

DEC 2019 — Frank Pavia, who has been awarded a Stanback Postdoctoral Fellowship, joins the lab. Welcome, Frankie!

NOV 2019
Elizabeth Niespolo, who has been awarded a Barr Postdoctoral Fellowship, joins the lab. Welcome, Elizabeth!

31 OCT 2019
Prof. Tissot is giving the Geocheminar in the Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences at UCLA.

SEPT 2019
Michael Kipp, who has been awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship by the Agouron Institute, joins the Isotoparium. Welcome, Mike!

AUG 2019
Installation of the iCAP RQ ICP-MS. Shout out to Minna Jyrala for a smooth process!

JULY 2019
Post-construction deep lab cleaning is completed.

JUNE 2019
1) Installation of the brand new Neptune Plus MC-ICP-MS (nicknamed 309 after its production number) and NWRfemto Laser Ablation System (#10). Shout out to Issaku Kohl and Ben Byerly (Thermo), and Jay Wilkins (ESI) for their beautiful work!

2) The vintage Triton TIMS from Dimitri Papanastassiou’s lab (#27) is successfully moved from JPL to the Isotoparium!

3) Postdoctoral researcher Gerrit Budde joins the Isotoparium. Welcome, Gerrit! 

MAY 2019
1) Lab construction 95% completed.
2) Air handling system is delivered, craned on the top of North Mudd, and successfully installed!

3) Duct work completed.
4) Prof. Tissot is giving a seminar in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Riverside.

APR 2019
1) The mass spec room is ready and awaiting instrument install.

2) Clean laboratory furnitures and hoods fully installed!

3) Hoods are moved into the lab, and secured for California conditions. (Below: Hoods’ seismic anchors).

3) Hoods are received! (Below: delicate packages of all kinds).

MAR 2019
1) Postdoctoral researcher Eugenia Hyung joins the Isotoparium. Welcome Eugenia! 
2) François and Ariella celebrate the birth of their second daughter. Bienvenue Béatrice!

JAN 2019
Building plans approved, permits received: the Isotoparium construction begins! (Below: the clean room space, mostly cleared out).

OCT 2018
1) Assistant research scientist Zhanna Druzhinina joins the Isotoparium. Welcome, Zhanna!
2) Purchase order placed for the Neptune Plus MC-ICP-MS and the NWRfemto laser ablation system.

SEPT 2018
1) Assistant Professor François Tissot starts at Caltech.
2) Graduate students Haoyu Li, Ren Marquez, and Emily Miaou join the Isotoparium. Welcome to the three of them!
3) Isotoparium design completed. Demolition begins! 

FEB 2018
Mechanical feasibility study completed.

DEC 2017
Designing of the Isotoparium begins.

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