GEOC Newsletter: Spring 2025
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
Dear GEOC Members,
Gratitude fills my heart as I reflect on the continuing support and contributions from each of you, our respected members. Your dedication has raised our Geochemistry (GEOC) Division to new heights, reaching and even surpassing the levels we enjoyed before the pandemic. We have seen the success of our recent ACS meetings, where we celebrated a record number of symposia and participants. Your commitment has been the cornerstone of these achievements, which we truly appreciate.
Encouragingly, we continue to witness a steady increase in new memberships, particularly among early career scientists and students. This influx of fresh perspectives, along with innovative ideas that they bring, is invigorating our division and ensuring a vibrant future for geochemistry. We are committed to providing them with support and mentorship to foster their development and success within our community.
Our division places immense value on fostering interactive activities and a collaborative culture. We are dedicated to promoting in-person events by hosting a free Division Social in each ACS meeting and supporting various regional ACS meetings and even non-ACS geochemistry workshops. Furthermore, we are proud to recognize the scientific and technical achievements of our members through our prestigious ACS Geochemistry Division Medal, Early-career Scientist and Student Research and Travel Awards, and our newly introduced Mid-career Scientist Awards, for which we anticipate inauguration in 2026. These initiatives underscore our promise of continuing to celebrate excellence in geochemistry.
Continuing our efforts, we are actively seeking the participation of young scientists and volunteers to further improve our division. These involvements are crucial as we strive to spur dynamic momentum of our team. Together, we can look forward to a positive and proactive future, where the GEOC Division continues to thrive and lead in the field of geochemistry. Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication.
Best regards,
Sang Soo Lee
Chair of the ACS Geochemistry Division
WRAP-UP OF SPRING 2025 MEETING
The Spring 2025 meeting was a resounding success, held in America’s Finest City, San Diego, CA, from March 23rd to March 27th. Our Geochemistry (GEOC) Division proudly hosted thirteen symposia (12 oral and 1 poster symposia), including three joint symposia co-hosted with ENVR, NUCL, and YCC Divisions, respectively. We were thrilled to receive 214 abstracts submitted to the GEOC Division, reflecting the dynamic research and innovative ideas being explored in geochemistry. On Wednesday night (March 26th), we hosted the Division Social at Half Door Brewing Co., where more than 120 current and future geochemists enjoyed a great time amidst the lively atmosphere of the City in Motion, complete with its refreshing coastal breeze and vibrant city lights.
One particularly encouraging aspect of the meeting was the increased student participants, which highlighted the growing interest and engagement of the next generation of geochemists. Their enthusiasm and contributions were evident throughout the event, especially in the large number of poster presentations. We deeply value these poster sessions as they provide unique opportunities for one-on-one interaction, fostering meaningful discussions and connections among attendees.
Finally, the Geochemistry Division was proud to honor Professor Janet Hering as the recipient of the 2025 Geochemistry Medal at the meeting. In celebration of her outstanding contributions to and beyond the field, the Division hosted an award symposium highlighting her influential work, followed by an awardee dinner attended by colleagues and collaborators. A second honoring symposium featured talks from peers, leaders, and students in geochemistry, reflecting on Professor Hering’s enduring impact on geochemistry. The events served as a tribute to Professor Hering's remarkable career dedicated to advancing geochemical knowledge and its application to real-world challenges.
As we look to the future, we remain committed to promoting and enhancing these interactive experiences, ensuring that our meetings continue to serve as a platform for collaboration and excellence in geochemistry. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this meeting a success.
TRAVEL AWARD WINNERS OF SPRING 2025
We are happy to announce the recipients of three Early Career and six Student Travel Awards for the ACS Spring 2025 meeting. Congratulations!!
Early Career Awards
Dr. Meng Wang, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Title: Comprehensive Analysis of Ion Pairing and Solvation in Monovalent Sulfate Salts: Insights from Raman and Dielectric Spectroscopy
Dr. Eshani Hettiarachchi, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, USA
Title: Impact of Surface Adsorption on DNA Structure and Stability: Implications for Environ mental DNA Interactions with Oxide Surfaces at the Mineral-Water Interface
Dr. Yinghao Wen, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Title: Mechanistic Investigation on Enhanced Serpentinization for Hydrogen Production
Student Awards
Yarong Qi, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Title: Low-Temperature Geologic Hydrogen Generation for the Clean Energy Transition
Brenna Knight, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, USA
Title: Challenging the Concept of Inert Electrolytes: Interplay of Ionic Strength and Polysaccha ride Charge Regulates the Kinetics of Heterogeneous Calcite Nucleation through Interfacial Energy
Caridad Estrada, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, USA
Title: Molecular Dynamics Simulations of PFAS at Zeolite-Water Interfaces: A Study of Hydro phobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Conghao Yi, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, USA
Title: LABQ3 Quantification of Mineral Composition Heterogeneity in 3D Using XCT
Elmira Ramazanova, Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, USA
Title: Modeling Adsorption of Rare Earth Elements to Kaolinite
Elena Skender, Chapman University Schmid College of Science and Technology, USA
Title: Assessing the Impact of Weathering on Arsenic Bioaccessibility at Empire Mine, California
2025 GEOCHEMISTRY DIVISION MEDAL RECIPIENT
GEOC Travel Award Recipients
(Top) Meng Wang, Eshani Hettiarachchi, Yinghao Wen;
(Middle) Yarong Qi, Brenna Knight, Caridad Estrada;
(Bottom) Conghao Yi, Elmira Ramazanova, Elena Skender.
GEOC DIVISION FALL 2025 MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
The Geochemistry Division will host eight sessions (with 128 submitted abstracts) for the ACS Fall 2025 Meeting in Washington, DC from August 17 to 21, 2025. Late submission may be possible until May 12, 2025. Please contact the Program Chairs, Ian C. Bourg and Vitalii Starchenko, by email (bourg@princeton.edu and starchenkov@ornl.gov) for inquiry.
The Division will accept late applications for the Student Travel Award and Early Career Scientist Travel Award for the Fall Meeting. Each award includes the registration waiver, $200 stipend, and extended time allocation for oral presentation. Applications should be sent by May 12, 2025 to the program chair of the meeting, Ian C. Bourg, by email at bourg@princeton.edu.
Biogeochemistry of Phosphorus: Bridging Microscope and Ecosystem Scale Processes for Global Sustainability
Organizers: Mengqiang Zhu (Univ. Maryland College Park), Deb Jaisi (Univ. Delaware)
Emerging Science and Technology for the Recovery and Recycling of Critical Materials
Organizers: Byong-Hun Jeon (Hanyang Univ.), Eunhyea Chung (Soul Nat’l. Univ.), Kyoung-Yeol Kim (Univ. Albany, SUNY), Ramesh Kumar (Hanyang Univ.), Soryong R. Chae (Univ. Cincinati)
Joint Sponsor: ENVR
Exploring Interfacial Structure and Reactivity in Mineral-Water Systems: From Single-Crystal Surfaces to Porous Media
Organizers: Bupmo Kim (Argonne Nat’l. Lab.), Sang Soo Lee (Argonne Nat’l. Lab.), Vitalii Starchenko (Oak Ridge Nat’l. Lab.), Stephanie Wong (Oak Ridge Nat’l. Lab.)
General Geochemistry
Organizer: Ian C. Bourg (Princeton Univ.)
Geochemistry and Extraction Sustainability of Technology-Critical Minerals
Organizers: Dan Tsang (Hong Kong Univ. Sci. Technol.), Aaron Jubb (U.S. Geological Survey), Dan Alessi (Univ. Alberta), Yuanzhi Tang (Georgia Inst. Technol.), Jorg Rinklebe (Univ. Wuppertal), Andy Masterson (U.S. Geological Survey), M. Rebecca Stokes (U.S. Geological Survey)
Methane: Policy for a Greenhouse Gas
Organizers: Paul Robinson, Kirsten Rosselot (Process Profiles), Joe Sabol (Chemical Consultant)
Joint Sponsor: ENFL
Mineral Crystallization, Aggregation, and Dissolution
Organizers: Xin Zhang (Pacific Northwest Nat’l. Lab.), Xiaofeng Guo (Washington State Univ.)
Transport, Wettability, and Geochemistry in Tight Rocks
Organizers: Shaina A. Kelly (Columbia Univ.), Ian C. Bourg (Princeton Univ.)
NEW GEOC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
We are excited to have two new GEOC executive committee members, Vitalii Starchenko and Nadine Kabengi. Welcome on board!
New executive committee members:
Vitalii Starchenko, Program Chair Elect, 2025
Vitalii Starchenko is a research scientist in the Geochemistry and Interfacial Sciences Group, Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Since completing his Ph.D. in physics of colloidal systems in 2009 (Institute of Biocolloid Chemistry, Kyiv, Ukraine), he occupied a postdoctoral position in Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz (Germany) 2011-2013, and a postdoctoral position at the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida) 2014-2016.
His research is focused on phase transformations in heterogeneous systems, reaction kinetics and transport phenomena at fluid-solid interfaces, coupling of molecular scale processes and chemistry in porous geomaterials to macroscopic properties, and use of machine learning tools to improve chemical identification in X-ray tomography imaging techniques. Dr. Starchenko believes that collaboration and exchange of ideas between broad spectrum of researchers with different background is a key to groundbreaking science. He regularly organizes sessions in the Division of Geochemistry at ACS Spring and Fall meetings. He believes that the Division of Geochemistry provides excellent platform for scientific discussion on fundamental problems for practical applications spanning from critical materials and toxic metals remediation to capture of carbon dioxide technologies.
Nadine Kabengi, Councilor, 2025 – 2027
Nadine Kabengi is a Professor of Geochemistry at Georgia State University where she is also associate dean of the Graduate School. She has received her B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural Engineering and Soil Science from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, where she was born and raised. She later moved to the United States where she earned a Ph.D. in Soil Physical Chemistry from the University of Florida in 2004. Prof. Kabengi’s research involves measuring the energetics and thermodynamic properties of surface reactions, focusing on mineral-water interfaces and surface reactivity. Prof. Kabengi has been a member of the Geochemistry since 2013. She served as the Division Program Chair Elect in 2017, Program Chair in 2018, Division Chair in 2019, and Past Division Chair in 2020). She chaired the Geochemistry Medal Committee from 2021-2023, and currently serves as a member on it. She has and continues to organize symposia and topical sessions at national and regional ACS meetings. Prof. Kabengi is passionate about promoting inclusion and equity and has pursued training around graduate education, including in marketing and holistic admissions processes. In her free time, she enjoys binge-watching TV and internet series.