Lab retreat (Oct 2024) at Mt. San Jacinto State Park for a weekend of hiking and science talks!
Current Team
François Tissot
Professor of Geochemistry & Investigator, Heritage Medical Research InstituteAs an isotope chemist and broad-based Earth scientist, my research focuses on both cosmochemical and geochemical problematics, such as (i) the evolution of the Solar System through the isotopic characterization of meteorites and their inclusions, (ii) the reconstruction of paleo-redox conditions in the ocean/atmosphere system, and (iii) the potential of non-traditional stable isotopes for studying magmatic processes.
These elemental and isotopic investigations are carried out by combining wet chemistry sample preparation in an ultra-clean laboratory environment, high-precision isotopic analyses on Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometer (MC-ICPMS) ± Laser ablation, and interpretation of the data using physically based models.
Trained as an engineer in Geology at the ENSG (France), I received my Ph.D in Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry from the University of Chicago in 2015, and was the W.O. Crosby Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2016-2017. I joined Caltech in 2018 where I created the Isotoparium: a state-of-the-art facility for high-precision isotope studies.
When science allows, I enjoy climbing, answering the many questions of my two young daughters, photography and Mel Brooks’ musicals.
Students and Postdocs
Théo obtained his PhD from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France) in 2017 at the Vincent Balter’s group. He then worked as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow at the University of Bristol (UK), in the group of Prof. Tim Elliott and as a research associate in the group of Prof. Thomas Tütken at the Johannes Gutenberg University (Mainz, Germany). Théo’s research primarily focuses on the use of the nutritional and physio-pathological controls of the cycling of metal stable isotopes in mammals and human to reconstruct the evolutions of dietary practices and track disorders of metal metabolism. Théo joined the Isotoparium at Caltech in 2024 as a postdoctoral researcher where he will research the utility of the stable isotopes of essential metals for biological and clinical applications. In his spare time, he loves photography as well as climbing and hiking. You can contact Théo at ttacail@caltech.edu.
Haoyu graduated from Nanjing University of China with a B.S. of Geology. She joined the Isotoparium at Caltech in 2018. She is now working on the chronology of Early Solar System and marine redox history. She likes baking and watching movies. You can contact Haoyu at haoyu.li@caltech.edu.
Shane transferred from Pasadena City College to UCLA where he received a B.S. in Geology in 2020. His goal is to combine isotope geochemistry and field-based investigations to study the origin and evolution of Earth’s crust. In particular, to further develop the use of zircon as a geochronometer and geochemical tracer in addressing outstanding questions regarding Earth’s formative years. At the Isotoparium, he is currently assisting in research on the bonding environment, speciation, and isotope fractionation of uranium in zircon. In addition to his scientific pursuits, Shane is a musician and avid explorer of the outdoors.
Shane HOUCHIN - Grad student
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Weiyi received his B.Sc. in Geophysics from the University of Science and Technology of China. He then obtained his M.Sc. in Geochemistry from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His goal is to understand where the Earth came from and how the Earth’s core looks like and operates. Now, he is working on using his newly derived I and Pu partitioning data from the first-principle calculations to constrain the formation history of the Earth. You can contact Weiyi at weiyiliu@caltech.edu.
Weiyi LIU - Grad student
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Tony received his B.A. in Astrogeophysics from Colgate University before joining the Isotoparium in 2022. He aims to probe the evolution of the early Solar System (SS) with research at the intersection of Isotope Cosmochemistry and Planetary Astrophysics. At the Isotoparium, Tony is currently using nucleosynthetic isotope anomalies to elucidate genetic ties between SS materials, develop models for early SS formation and evolution, and constrain the nature and origin of Earth’s building blocks. You can contact Tony at tyap@caltech.edu.
Hayward received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering with a focus on biomedical devices from Caltech and joined the Isotoparium in 2023. As a PhD student in the MedE/EE program, he is working to combine the fields of medical and electrical engineering with isotope metallomics to search for novel disease detection techniques. He enjoys camping, photography, and woodworking among other hobbies. You can contact Hayward at hmelton@caltech.edu.
Hayward MELTON - Grad student
Sophia graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Chemistry and a specialization in Computing before joining the Isotoparium in 2024. Sophia’s interests lie at the intersection of chemistry and planetary science, and she hopes to use isotopic signatures to gain insight into questions at the heart of cosmochemistry and the origin of our Solar System. Outside of the exciting world of isotopes, Sophia enjoys hiking, skiing and reading. You can contact Sophia at swesterk@caltech.edu.
Sophia WESTERKAMP - Grad student
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The Isotoparium’s close collaborators
Jess Adkins
Andrey Bekker
Christoph Burkhardt
Andrew Davis
Timothy Grove
T. Mark Harrison
Mauricio
Ibañez-Mejia
Kevin McKeegan
Marc-Alban Millet
Ali Pourmand
Olga Pravdivtseva
Ravi Salgia
Valerie Scott
Haolan Tang
Benjamin Weiss
Alumni
