Sebastian Tappe, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Biography

Since 2021, Sebastian is a professor of Petrology & Geochemistry at the world’s northernmost university, located in Tromsø, Norway. He graduated in 2005 with a Dr. rer. nat. degree from the University of Mainz in Germany, as part of a joint program with the Max-Planck-Institute of Chemistry. An Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship brought Sebastian to the University of Alberta in Canada from 2006 to 2008, after which he joined De Beers Canada Exploration as a Geochemistry Specialist in their Toronto Headquarters from 2008 to 2010. In 2011 and 2012, he carried out research and taught in the Geochemistry group at the University of Münster as a Research Associate. Between 2013 and 2021, Sebastian worked in Johannesburg, first for De Beers Group Exploration and eventually as an Associate Professor of Economic Geology at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

His main research interest is the formation of mineral deposits related to volatile-rich magmatic systems, ranging from carbonatites and kimberlites through mafic-hosted magmatic sulphide mineralization to rare-metal bearing granitic pegmatites. He uses radiogenic and stable isotope techniques for tracking the sources and evolutionary processes in these economically important magmatic systems, but he certainly also enjoys and encourages a good dose of fieldwork in extreme environments.

Motivation for serving the EAG council

To serve as an EAG Council member would be a great honour for me because the broad field of Geochemistry has a rich history and hopefully a bright future in Europe, with a positive influence on the geosciences globally. I had the privilege to work as a geochemist in the mining industry and in academia – on three continents. This experience puts me into a position to help lobbying for Geochemistry at various levels, and to support the continued efforts for more diversity and inclusion. One of my goals would be to further improve EAG’s activities to better prepare university graduates who major in Geochemistry and related fields for exciting plus fulfilling job opportunities outside of academia, because I believe Geochemistry must demonstrate more of its relevance to society in the ‘real-world’.