Welcome to Tan and Parvathi!

posted : 2023-12-20 00:00:00

Big welcome to Tan and Parvathi. Tan has an inorganic chemistry background and Parvathi has a microbiology and biochemistry background. Cannot wait to see what new things we can do through combining our talents. Tan will work on Fe-Mo-sulfide systems and Parvathi will focus on electron transfer in photosynthetic and chemolithoautotrophic sulfur bacteria. Cannot wait to see what new things these new talents may find.

Rachel successfully defended her dissertation!

posted : 2023-12-02 00:00:00

Rachel has successfully defended her dissertation, "Enhancing Our Understanding Of Ancient Oceans Through The Investigation Of Molybdenum Behavior Under Sulfidic Conditions". Rachel has done a beautiful job with a difficult Fe-Mo-sulfide project. She has published two papers on this topic and is working on the third! Rachel will start her NSF postdoc fellowship in South Carolina. Rachel is enthusiastic in Geoscience education and has her own channel and tens of thousands of fans on YouTube. It is always difficult to say Goodbye! We cannot wait to see what new things Rachel will create! Enjoy your new journey, our dear friend! (It is a pity Jie could not walk with Rachel; she did not walk with Hugo either. what a "horrible" advisor! But gladly, Kate was able to help. The picture is of Kate, Rachel, and Jim @UTEP convocation.) 

Opening for one postdoc and graduate students

posted : 2023-09-10 00:00:00

Be part of the NanoGeoBio family! We have one immediate opening for a postdoc position. The work will focus on transition metal-sulfur systems. Candidates with geochemistry, mineralogy, materials science, and inorganic chemistry backgrounds are preferred. We will also be interested in those with DFT simulation expertise. Prospective students should apply through the ASU School of Molecular Sciences. Please don't hesitate to contact the PI if interested!  

Hugo successfully defended his dissertation

posted : 2023-08-15 00:00:00

It has been a long journey for Hugo (and unusual in many aspects). But you know what? Hugo kicked out the obstacles in his way one by one! It is Hugo's day and he successfully defended his dissertation. Hugo was the one that initiated the purple sulfur bacteria project for the NanoGeoBio Laboratory and has completed studies for several metal sulfide systems. Thanks for heavy lifting this new project and good luck for your new phase of life! Way to go, Hugo! We will miss you! 

Rachel at beamline!

posted : 2023-08-01 00:00:00

Rachel working hard on CLS beamline, collecting EXAFS and XANES data for her Fe-Mo-sulfide samples. 

Invited talk at Goldschmidt

posted : 2023-07-10 00:00:00

NanoGeoBio Laboratory@ASU is open!

posted : 2023-07-10 00:00:00

Finally the good news comes through and the lab is open. We are so ready to move our projects forward. Big thanks to Dr. Weitz and Dr. Yan for their dedication to setting up the laboratory! 

NSF postdoctoral fellowship!

posted : 2023-06-01 00:00:00

Welcome to Geng and Andrew!

posted : 2023-04-25 00:00:00

Invited talk at ACS

posted : 2022-08-18 00:00:00

Move to Arizona State

posted : 2022-08-01 00:00:00

After six beautiful years working in DEERS at UT-El Paso, Jie will move to the SMS, Arizona State University. Farewell, El Paso and all the great people! Another exciting journey is awaiting!

Both Rachel and Jie presented at Goldschmidt 2022!

posted : 2022-07-15 00:00:00

A productive virtual meeting for both Jie and Rachel. Stay tuned for related papers (hopefully soon).

Congrats to Rachel!

posted : 2022-06-01 00:00:00

Rachel is one step closer to her NASA dream!

Welcome to Grace!

posted : 2022-05-16 00:00:00

Grace is an expert in extracellular electron transfer between bacteria and solid phase. Excited to be working with Grace on purple sulfur bacteria and metal sulfide electron transfer!

Welcome to Christian!

posted : 2022-01-31 00:00:00

Christian is a senior majored in Chemistry and Biochemistry. Christian will work on the biological iron-vanadium system during his appointment.

Rachel is a Ph.D. candidate!

posted : 2021-10-01 00:00:00

Rachel successfully defended her thesis proposal, and is pushing her iron-molybdenum-sulfide work forward.

Immediate opennings in our lab

posted : Sep 01, 2021

We have immediate openings for one postdoctoral fellow positin and graduate students. Prospective graduate students have to apply through ASU School of Molecular Sciences. Please don't hesitate to contact the PI for information if interested.

Lab's twitter account for latest news!

posted : Sep 01, 2021

https://twitter.com/NanoGeoBio

A new paper by Rachel and Jie!

posted : Sep 01, 2021

Rachel's first first-author paper on Molybdenum! Check it out! https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825221003007?via%3Dihub

Hugo, Rachel, and Jie all presented at ACS Fall 2021

posted : Aug 24, 2021

Hugo presented his work of "Utilization of Solid-Phase Metal Sulfide as Electron Donors by Purple Sulfur Bacteria: A Comparative and Mechanistic Study" at ACS Fall 2021. Proud of Hugo getting progress after an extremely tough year for him! Rachel also presented her work of "Biological Sequestration of Molybdenum under Sulfidic Conditions: The Role of Sulfate Reducing Bacteria". Jie scrutinized and reinterpreted Ezequiel's former work on "Biogenic versus abiogenic iron sulfide: Effects of reactants and the presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria". Overall a very productive meeting!

DOE Early Career Award!

posted : Jul 30, 2021

Jie (more accurately, her group) was recognized for her research that addresses the existing gap between the understanding of the structure, bonding, and speciation in transition metal (TM) sulfide species. She aims to reveal the underlying reaction mechanisms of TM-sulfide systems and to connect their interactions with the electronic states observed in TMs under various conditions.

A new paper by Jie, Rachel, and Hugo!

posted : Jul 15, 2021

An interesting review paper on Agriculture nanoparticles. Check it out! https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211339821000381

Congratulations to Rachel!

posted : Apr 30, 2021

Rachel's work on molybdenum sequestration mechanisms has been awarded the GSA graduate student research grant. Congratulations, Rachel!

A new paper by Muammar and Jie!

posted : Aug 30, 2020

An interesting review paper published in Environmental Microbiology. Check it out! https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1462-2920.15174

Farewell to Erica!

posted : May 01, 2020

Erica is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Erica will start her graduate school study at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Have fun at WHOI, Erica!

Farewell to Muammar!

posted : Dec 01, 2019

Congratulations to Muammar for the new position as a junior leader in Tuebingen University! Best wishes, our dear friend!

Welcome to Erica, Rachel, Humayra, and Tony to the NanoGeoBio Laboratory!

posted : Aug 26, 2019

Welcome to all. Excited to work with you!

Congratulations to Brandon in obtaining his M.S. degree!

posted : Jul 15, 2019

Congratulations to Bradon on his successful defense of Masters thesis - Interactions of bacterial communities and their mineralogical environment: A case study based in White Sands.

Hugo was awarded a GRC travel award

posted : Jul 06, 2019

Hugo presented his work in GRC-Applied and environmental microbiology "Shaping the Earth's Microverse" held in Mount Holyoke College, MA.

Congratulations to Ezequiel in obtaining his M.S. degree!

posted : May 01, 2019

Congratulations to Ezequiel on his successful defense of Masters thesis - Precipitation and transformation of iron sulfide in anoxic aqueous conditions: effects of reactant sources

A session on Nanoparticles in Nature at ACS

posted : Apr 01, 2019

Muammar and Jie organized an ACS session on nanoparticles in nature. Muammar co-convened the session with Dr. Mohamed from University of South Carolina.

2019 Geological Sciences Colloquium

posted : Mar 15, 2019

Brandon's work based in White Sands has attracted attention at the Departmental Colloquium.

Field trip to the Badwater Basin, Death Valley

posted : Feb 28, 2019

Brandon, Rip, Ben and Jie had a field trip to the Badwater Basin, Death Valley, for exploration of the relationship between microbial communities and evaporite minerals. The copyright of the photos belongs to Dr. Brunner.

GSA grant awarded to Ezequiel!

posted : Aug 01, 2018

Ezequiel's work on iron sulfide precipitation and transformation in low-temperature aqueous solutions has been awarded the GSA graduate student grant. He also received the prestigious MGPV division's extra award. Congratulations, Ezequiel!

Opening for PhD student

posted : Jul 26, 2018

Immediate opening for one Ph.D. student to work on relationships between sulfur-metabolizing communities and photosynthetic communities in water-restricted gypsic environments.

Purple sulfur bacteria!

posted : May 01, 2018

Look at their vivid color! Cannot wait to understand them better in the context of a mineral environment! 

More samples from White Sands

posted : Mar 28, 2018

A sampling trip to the White Sands was conducted this March. Except creating more work for ourselves to do, we also had A LOT OF fun with the Patrick's ATV. (Top two photos are courtesy of Dr. Ben Brunner.) 

Welcome to Hugo!

posted : Feb 01, 2018

Welcome to our newest group member, Hugo!

New rounds of exploration in the White Sands!

posted : Jan 19, 2018

Welcome to Dr. Mansor, Rocio and Brandon!

posted : Aug 01, 2017

Our newest members Dr. Muammar Mansor, Rocio Rojos, and Brandon Lajoie will make our team stronger than ever! Big welcomes!

Sulfate-Reducers Successfully Cultured

posted : Jun 01, 2017

Ezequiel has successfully cultured sulfate-reducers, Desulfovibrio vulgaris and D. desulfuricans. Now we have these bacterial strains happily growing in the NanoGeoBIo lab!

2017 Geological Sciences Colloquium at UTEP

posted : Mar 02, 2017

Ezequiel and Matt presented posters at the 2017 Geological Sciences Colloquium. 

Openings for motivated students

posted : Feb 06, 2017

The NanoGeoBio Laboratory has openings for motivated graduate and undergraduate students. Please contact the PI directly regarding these positions. 

New member!

posted : Jan 17, 2017

Welcome to our newest group member, Ezequiel!

Microbial crusts in gypsum deserts

posted : Oct 18, 2016

Jie and Rip (Dr. Langford) were looking for microbial crusts in the White Sands National Monuments, New Mexico.

The Earth Science week

posted : Oct 15, 2016

Jie introduced the concept of nanogeoscience to hundreds of K-12 students during the Earth Science week. This event also featured the application of 3-D printing and drones in geoscience research. 

A new chapter!

posted : Sep 01, 2016

Jie joined the Department of Geological Sciences as an assistant professor. 

Jie's profile at the departmental webpage