Christine Putnis, University of Münster, Germany
2025 Science Innovation Award medallist – Werner Stumm Medal
Christine V. Putnis is a geochemist working in the Institute for Mineralogy in the University of Münster, Germany where she has an apl Professor position. Since moving to Germany from Cambridge (UK) in 1996, she has carried out research using experimental and analytical methods, mainly atomic force microscopy, to investigate reactions at the mineral-fluid interface, specifically the mechanism of interface-coupled dissolution-precipitation and the formation of nanoparticles as a mechanism of crystal growth. The significance of this mechanism in the removal of toxic elements from solution, as a process for environmental remediation, has been presented in numerous publications. Effectively this research starts at the nanoscale and bridges the gap between nano-, micro- and large-scale Earth processes.