Position:      Assistant Professor
Degree:       Ph.D.
Laboratory: Nuclear Engineering Chemistry
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My background is in isotope geochemistry and cosmochemistry. Isotope geochemistry and cosmochemistry involves applying chemical methods to geological samples to understand how the Earth and the solar system were formed. I mainly focus on moderately volatile elements such as gallium and zinc, which are useful tools for understanding the evaporation and condensation history of meteorites and lunar rocks. Meteorites can provide information on the environment in which they were formed, which can provide clues for understanding the evolution of the solar system and Earth. How the elements migrated during the very early stages of the Earth’s formation is also a topic that I am interested in, and I work with some of the oldest rocks on Earth.

Publication

1. The gallium isotopic composition of the bulk silicate Earth, Chizu Kato, Frédéric Moynier, Julien Foriel, Fang-Zhen Teng, Igor S. Puchtel, Chemical Geology, 448 164-172 (2017).
2. Gallium isotopic evidence for the fate of moderately volatile elements in planetary bodies and refractory inclusions, Chizu Kato, Frédéric Moynier, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 479 330-339 (2017).
3. Gallium isotopic evidence for extensive volatile loss from the Moon during its formation, Chizu Kato, Frédéric Moynier, Science Advances, 3, e1700571 (2017).