Kohlstedt to head School of Earth Sciences

Institute of Technology Dean Steven L. Crouch has appointed Professor David Kohlstedt head of the Newton Horace Winchell School of Earth Sciences, with a concurrent appointment as head of the Department of Geology and Geophysics. Both appointments are effective July 1, 2006.

An internationally renowned researcher in rock deformation processes, Kohlstedt studies the physics and chemistry of minerals. He and his research group explore a range of problems, including planetary core formation, diffusion in Earth materials, interactions of deformation and melt migration, and the role of water on olivine deformation.

In addition to his research, Kohlstedt teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has served as a graduate advisor and mentor to many younger scholars in the field.

He received a bachelor of science degree in physics and mathematics from Valparaiso University in 1965 and earned a Ph.D. in solid-state physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1970. He was a research associate at Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). From 1975 to 1989, he was on the faculty of Cornell University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering from 1975 to 1989. He joined the University of Minnesota's Department of Geology and Geophysics in 1989.

Kohlstedt is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and a member of the American Ceramic Society and the Mineralogical Society of America. He is author or co-author of more than 150 refereed publications.

His recent honors include election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Harry H. Hess Medal from the American Geophysical Union, the Alumni Achievement Award from Valparaiso University, and the Louis Néel Medal from the European Geosciences Union. He has been a visiting scholar and lecturer at institutions around the world, including California Institute of Technology, MIT, the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, the Mineralogical Society of the United Kingdom, the Universität Bayreuth, Australian National University, and others.

Kohlstedt will succeed Professor William Seyfried, Jr., who has held the concurrent posts for 13 years.