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Donald J. DePaolo

Graduate Professor of Geochemistry and Senior Faculty Scientist

Building 074, Room 0327M

M/S 74R316C

Phone: 510-486-7560

Fax: 510-486-7714

djdepaolo@lbl.gov

Curriculum Vitae

  • Google Scholar
  • Education
  • Experience
  • Awards
  • Professional Affiliations
  • Boards & Committees
  • Other Web Pages

Biography

Don DePaolo received his Ph.D. in Geology from Caltech in 1978, and has been a professor of geochemistry and geology at UCLA (1978-1988) and UC Berkeley (1988-2016).  He is currently Graduate Professor of Geochemistry and Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley. He served as Chair of the Department of Geology and Geophysics at UC Berkeley from 1990-1993, and was Director of the LBNL Earth Sciences Division from 2007-2012.  From 2010-2016 he was Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Sciences at LBNL. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has served on numerous advisory and study committees for federal agencies, universities, and the National Research Council. His research involves the use of isotopic measurements as tracers and chronometers of Earth processes.  From 2009 through 2018 he was the director of the Center for Nanoscale Controls of Geologic CO2, a US DOE Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) led by LBNL.

Publications

  • Google Scholar

Research Interests

DePaolo's research interests focus on using naturally occurring isotopes to explore questions such as:

  • Can carbon dioxide be efficiently converted to solid carbonate minerals after injection into the subsurface?
  • How do trace elements and isotopes get incorporated into carbonate minerals as they grow from aqueous solutions?
  • What is the origin of differences in diffusion rates of isotopes of Ca, Mg and K in fluids and magma?
  • What controls the size of volcanic eruptions and magma chambers?
  • Are there ways to date volcanic and sedimentary rocks that are too old to date with radiocarbon but too young to date by other established methods?
  • How has the chemistry of the oceans changed over Earth history and what have been the causes and effects of those changes?

Education

  • Ph.D. Geology, minor in Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, 1978
  • B.S. Geology, SUNY Binghamton, 1973, with Honors

Experience

  • Program Area Lead for Fundamental Earth Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) - Earth Sciences Division (ESD), 2013-Present
  • Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Sciences, LBNL-ESD, 2010-Present (Acting 2010-2012)
  • Director, Center for Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2, LBNL-ESD, 2009-Present
  • Class of 1951 Professor of Geochemistry, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), 1998-Present
  • Director, Center for Isotope Geochemistry, UCB & LBNL, 1988-Present
  • Faculty Scientist, LBNL-ESD, 1988-Present
  • Professor of Geochemistry, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, UCB, 1988-Present
  • Director, LBNL-ESD, 2007-2013
  • Geochemistry Department Head, LBNL-ESD, 1998-2006
  • Chair, Department of Geology and Geophysics, UCB, 1990-1993
  • Professor of Geology and Geochemistry, UCLA, 1983-1988
  • Associate Professor, Geology and Geochemistry, UCLA, 1981-1983
  • Assistant Professor, Geology and Geochemistry, UCLA, 1978-1981

Awards

  • Victor Moritz Goldschmidt Award, Geochemical Society, 2019
  • Hess Medal, American Geophysical Union, 2014
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2009
  • Harold Urey Medal, European Association of Geochemistry, 2000
  • John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, 2000
  • Arthur L. Day Medal, Geological Society of America, 1999
  • Miller Research Professor, UC Berkeley, 1997-1998
  • Geochemistry Fellow, Geochemical Society and European Association of Geochemistry, 1997
  • Fellow, Geological Society of America, 1997
  • Fulbright Senior Scholar, Australia National University, 1994-1995
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1994
  • Member, National Academy of Sciences, 1993
  • Fellow, California Academy of Sciences, 1992
  • Mineralogical Society of America Award, 1987
  • Fellow, Mineralogical Society of America, 1987
  • J.B. MacElwane Award, American Geophysical Union, 1983
  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 1983
  • F.W. Clarke Medal, Geochemical Society, 1978

Professional Affiliations

  • American Geophysical Union (AGU)
  • European Association of Geochemistry (EAG)
  • Geochemical Society
  • National Academy of Sciences (NAS)

Advisory Boards, Committees, and Councils

  • LANL Capability Review Committee for Complex Natural and Engineered Systems, 2017
  • Co-Chair, BES Committee on Basic Research Needs for SubTER, 2015
  • DOE Committee on Grand Challenge Research in Subsurface Science, 2015
  • BESAC Subcommittee on Grand Research Challenges in Energy Science, 2014-2015
  • NRC Committee on Strengthening the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Laboratory Enterprise, 2013-2014
  • NAS Class I Membership Committee , 2012
  • Chair, NSF Committee of Visitors, Deep Earth Section of EAR, 2011
  • Advisory Committee, NSF Geoscience Directorate , 2010-2012
  • Chair, Executive Committee, DOE/FE National Risk Assessment Partnership, 2013-2016
  • Executive Committee, DOE/FE National Risk Assessment Partnership, 2009-2017
  • Chair , Board of Directors, Joint Bioenergy Institute, 2012-Present
  • Board of Directors, Joint Bioenergy Institute, 2009-Present
  • Advisory Committee, Earth Evolution Program, CIFAR , 2009-2014
  • Board of Directors, Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2002-Present

Other Web Pages

Center for Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2 (EFRC)
UC Berkeley, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
UC/LBNL, Center of Isotope Geochemistry
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