Balz Kamber
Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Balz Kamber had made profound, diverse and paradigm-shifting contributions across multiple fields of geochemistry. These include the nature and evolution of Earth’s earliest lithosphere, the use of REE contents in microbial carbonates as palaeo-redox proxies, employing mineral aerosols to track dust provenance, and key aspects of fundamental geochemical cycles. Balz’ research, while academic in nature, often has a strong societal component involving interactions with policy makers concerning water resource management, mineral exploration and environmental clean-up. In addition to these accomplishments Balz is also an extremely generous scientist, always willing to share his ideas, sample collections and his time with present and upcoming generations of geochemists.