Anat Shahar

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Anat Shahar is a staff scientist at the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington [1] and adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland[2]. Her work uses high-pressure, high-temperature experiments and stable isotope geochemistry to understand the formation of planets in the solar system.[3]

Career[edit]

Anat Shahar obtained a B.S. and a M.E. in geological engineering from Cornell University in 2002 and 2003, respectively. She earned her Ph.D. in geochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2008, while working in the lab of Edward Young. She went on to complete her postdoctoral research at the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington and in 2009 was appointed staff scientist. Since 2012 she also has served as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Maryland.[4]

Shahar won the 2016 Mineralogical Society of America’s Young Investigator Award, given to individuals near the beginning of their professional careers, who have made outstanding published contributions to the field of mineralogy. The award also made her a Life Fellow of the society.[5] In 2015, she won the F.W. Clarke Medal, an award from the Geochemical Society that recognizes a single outstanding contribution to geochemistry or cosmochemistry by an early-career scientist.[6] Shahar also serves as geochemistry secretary for the Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology Section of the American Geophysical Union.[7]

Research Initiatives[edit]

In her research, Shahar investigates how planets in the solar system formed and evolved through lab experiments that simulate the high temperature and pressure conditions that occur within Earth and other planets. She is the first person to perform stable isotope geochemistry experiments with high-temperature materials.[8] Her lab group determines how these conditions alter the ratios of isotopes in different planetary materials.

Shahar measured how silicon fractionates into different isotopic ratios when silicate and iron interact and form a metallic core and surrounding mantle, such as occurred during Earth's formation. The experiments suggest that silicon may be one of the lighter elements that make up Earth’s core, along with iron and nickel.[9] Shahar’s lab group also investigates how the presence of magnesium, sulfur, and nickel[10] affect iron isotopic fractionation in planetary and asteroid materials.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Shahar". Geophysical Laboratory. 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  2. ^ "https://www.geol.umd.edu/anatshahar". www.geol.umd.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-31. External link in |title= (help)
  3. ^ Science, Carnegie. "Anat Shahar | Carnegie Institution for Science". carnegiescience.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  4. ^ "Anat Shahar - CV". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  5. ^ "Mineralogical Society of America - MSA Award". www.minsocam.org. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  6. ^ "Anat Shahar named 2015 F.W. Clarke Medalist". www.geochemsoc.org. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  7. ^ "Leadership - Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology". Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  8. ^ Than, Ker. "Crushing Pressures Start to Reveal the Truth About Earth's Core". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  9. ^ Young, Edward (5 May 2017). "Presentation of the Mineralogical Society of America Award for 2016 to Anat Shahar" (PDF). American Mineralogist. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  10. ^ "Nickel helps scientists iron out a core planetary mystery | Cosmos". cosmosmagazine.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  11. ^ "Anat Shahar - Research". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.

Further reading[edit]