Vita
Research Interests:
As an isotope geo-/cosmochemist, I use natural variations in the abundance of isotopes in combination with a solid background in mineralogy and geology to investigate the processes and timescales of the formation and evolution of matter – from the synthesis of the elements in stars, through the accretion of planets and their differentiation in core, mantle and crust, to the weathering of minerals at the Earth's surface. I have many interests, but the main questions I try to address with my research are: What is the origin of the matter in our solar system, and how, when, and where did it accrete to form planetary bodies? How does mixing in the circumsolar disk influence the isotopic and elemental composition of the forming terrestrial planets? What can isotopes tell us about the physico-chemical conditions of nebular and planetary processes? How and when did Earth, Mars and the Moon fractionate their geochemical reservoirs, and how did these reservoirs evolve through time?
Education and Employment:
2022-today: Senior Research Scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (Planetary Science Department), Göttingen, Germany
2022: Habilitation and venia legendi in Cosmochemistry and Geochemistry, WWU Münster, Germany
2017-2022: Research Associate (Akademischer Rat) at the Institut für Planetologie, WWU Münster, Germany
2015-2017: Postdoc at the Institut für Planetologie, WWU Münster, Germany
2013-2015: Postdoc and Lab manager at Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, USA
2012: Postdoc at the Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2008-2012: Doctor of Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2007: Diploma in Geology-Paleontology, University of Cologne, Germany
2006: Diploma in Mineralogy, University of Cologne, Germany
Awards, Honors, Scholarships:
2018: Keynote address at Goldschmidt Conference, Boston
2016: Victor-Moritz-Goldschmidt-Award of the German Mineralogical Society (DMG)
2015: Keynote address and invited talk at Goldschmidt Conference, Prague
2013: ETH Medal for outstanding PhD thesis
2013: Pellas-Ryder Award for best student paper in planetary sciences by GSA/MetSoc
2013: Swiss National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship for research stay at the University of Chicago
2009: Bernd Rendel-Prize for young researchers by the DFG (German Research Society)
2008: A.E. Ringwood fellowship of the Australian National University (declined).
2007: Stipend of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to carry out Diploma thesis at ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
Selected publications (10 of last 10 years):
(1) Steller, T., Burkhardt, C., Yang, C., Kleine, T. (2022): Nucleosynthetic zinc isotope anomalies reveal a dual origin of terrestrial volatiles. Icarus 386, 115171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115171
(2) Burkhardt, C., (2021): Planetary genealogy. Elements 17, 395-400. https://doi.org/10.2138/gselements.17.5.395
(3) Burkhardt, C., Spitzer, F., Morbidelli, A., Budde, G., Render, J., Kruijer, T., Kleine, T. (2021): Terrestrial planet formation from lost inner solar system material. Science Advances 7, eabj7601. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj7601
(4) Schneider, J.M., Burkhardt, C., Marrocci, Y., Brennecka, G.A., Kleine, T. (2020): Early evolution of the solar accretion disk inferred from Cr-Ti-O isotopes in individual chondrules. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 551, 116585 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116585
(5) Brennecka, G.A., Burkhardt, C., Budde, G., Kruijer, T.S., Nimmo, F., Kleine, T. (2020): Astronomical context of Solar System formation from molybdenum isotopes in meteorite inclusions. Science, 370, 837-840. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz8482
(6) Burkhardt, C., Dauphas, N., Hans, U., Bourdon, B., Kleine, T. (2019): Elemental and isotopic variability in solar system materials by mixing and processing of primordial disk reservoirs. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 261, 145-170 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2019.07.003
(7) Budde, G., Burkhardt, C., Kleine, T. (2019): Molybdenum isotopic evidence for the late accretion of outer Solar System material to Earth. Nature Astronomy. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-019-0779-y
(8) Kruijer, T.S., Burkhardt, C., Budde, G., Kleine, T. (2017): Age of Jupiter inferred from the distinct genetics and formation times of meteorites. PNAS, 114, 6712-6716. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704461114
(9) Burkhardt, C., Borg, L.E., Brennecka, G.A., Shollenberger, Q.R., Dauphas, N., Kleine, T. (2016): A nucleosynthetic origin for the Earth's anomalous 142Nd composition. Nature 537, 394-398. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18956
(10) Burkhardt, C., Hin, R.C., Kleine, T., Bourdon, B. (2014): Evidence for Mo isotope fractionation in the solar nebula and during planetary differentiation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 391, 201-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.01.037
Links:
Homepage: http://christoph-burkhardt.org/index.html
Google scholar: https://scholar.google.de/citations?hl=de&user=HmnRHHkAAAAJ