Stephan Krämer, University of Vienna, Austria

Biography

Stephan Kraemer is the head of the Department of Environmental Geosciences at the University of Vienna. He is a low temperature geochemist interested in molecular scale bio-mineral interactions that play a key role in processes such as contaminant transport or plant and bacterial nutrient acquisition in soils, ground- and surface water and marine systems. A particular focus is the reactivity of biogenic molecules including ligands, reductants, proteins and nucleic acids at mineral surfaces. His latest research interests include interactions of DNA with mineral phases in the context of long-term eDNA and aDNA preservation. After studying Earth Sciences at Ruhr Universität Bochum, he obtained his PhD in 1997 under the guidance of Prof. Janet Hering (CALTECH) and held positions at UC Berkeley and ETH-Zürich before moving to Vienna in 2006.

Motivation for serving the EAG council

Geochemistry has always been a discipline with a healthy disregard for disciplinary boundaries, even in its founding idea to apply fundamental chemical concepts to the Earth sciences. As EAG councillor, I will help the society in its efforts to be a platform for all geochemical research, including more traditional topics and those that venture far beyond established comfort zones. Key tools for realizing this are the Goldschmidt conferences and the workshops supported by EAG. These meetings are laboratories of thought, where scientists from various fields interact and germinate exciting new ideas. Also, I will work towards further strengthening the role of these meetings to provide networking opportunities, support, mentoring and visibility for young scientists from all over the world – they are going to be the future of geochemistry.