Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

Alexander van Geen

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
Phone: (845) 365 8644; Fax: (845) 365 8154
E-mail: avangeen@ldeo.columbia.edu

Education

1989    Ph.D. Oceanography, Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Woods Hole Oceanographic

            Institution, Cambridge, MA.  Thesis title: "Trace metal sources for the Atlantic inflow to the 

            Mediterranean Sea".

1982    B.S. Oceanography, B.S. Chemistry (cum laude), University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

Employment

Geochemical cycling of trace elements in natural and perturbed environments, particularly redox-sensitive processes affecting metals and metalloids. Applications to mine tailings, coastal sediment, estuaries, and groundwater, as well reconstructions of past climate change in nearshore environments. Interest in the bridging of disciplines, including the health and social sciences, to address multi-faceted environmental problems.

Selected Professional Activities

• Interim chair, AQUATRAIN advisory committee EU Marie Curie Research Training Network, 2008-2009.

• Member, proposal review panel, Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France)

• Steering Committee member, The Earth Clinic of the Earth Institute at Columbia University

• Steering Committee member, Cross-Cutting Initiatives of the Earth Institute
• Associate Director, Columbia Superfund Basic Research Program, 2000-
• US and international patents pending for arsenic field kit
• Invited by UNICEF to present arsenic mitigation program, Bangkok, 2002
• Interviewed by the BBC, Scientific American, Science, Popular Science, The Economist, La Recherche, Frankfurter Allgemeine and other media about arsenic in Bangladesh
• Co-organized and hosted "Arsenic in Drinking Water" conference attended by over 100 international participants, New York, 2001 (http://superfund.ciesin.columbia.edu)
• NSF panelist, Marine Geology and Geophysics, 1997 and 2000
• Chief scientist, RV Melville, 1999; RV Pt Sur, 1995 and 1997

Graduate advisees:

Zanna Chase (PhD EES, Columbia, 2001), Francesco Fiondella (MS EES, Columbia, 2001), Renee Takesue (PhD EES, Columbia, 2002), Ken Kostel (MS EES, Columbia, 2002), Alisa Opar (MS EES, Columbia U., 2004), Sophie Thoral (These de Doctorat, U. Aix-Marseille III, 2004), Alberto Sanchez (PhD candidate, UABC, Ensenada, Mexico), Allan Horneman (PhD candidate, EEE, Columbia U.), Zahid Aziz (PhD candidate, EES, Columbia U.), Amy Schoenfeld (MS candidate, Columbia U., 2004), Kathleen Radloff (PhD candidate, EEE, Columbia), Fanny Travassac (candidate, These de Doctorat, U. Aix-Marseille III, 2005), Jerome Metral (DESS, University of Grenoble, 2005),  Jessica Leber (MS EES/Journalism candidate, Columbia U., 2006).

Undergraduate advisees:

Anna Schmidt (1995, Boston College), Stefan Petranek (1996, Bowdoin College), Cristina Rumbaitis (1996, Columbia U.), Anna Michel (1996, MIT), Maryann Sapanara (1997, MIT), Elisabeth Scheidecker (U. South Carolina, 1998), Amanda Scdoris (Barnard College, 1999), Dina Stamler (Barnard College, 1999), Julien Emile-Geay (Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris; 2000), Marta Vicarelli (Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris; 2002), Roseline Louis (Ecole Normale Superieure de Chimie, Rennes, France; 2004), Cristina Ortega (U. Chile, Santiago, Chile; 2005), Anya Manning (Barnard College; 2006), Sajaa Ahmed (Columbia College, 2007).

High school advisees:

Stefan Petranek (1995, Horace Greeley High School, Chappaqua, NY), Joy Ann Mahabir (2005, Bronx High School of Science, NY), Thomas Bidal d’Asfeld (2006, French high school, Paris).