Dr. Stepan M. Chernonozhkin

I am an expert in MC-ICP-MS analysis and an isotope cosmochemist. Operating at the forefront of modern analytical chemistry and cosmochemistry, I focus on developing innovative trace element and stable isotope proxies to further understand the early stages of planetary evolution.

Since completing my university degree at Novosibirsk University, I’ve been deeply involved in developing novel digestion and target element isolation chemical procedures, mass spectrometry and data reduction protocols, assessing the potential of novel minerals as geochemical proxies, and implementing cutting edge mass spectrometry and laser ablation developments to advance geo- and cosmochemistry. I study isotopic fractionation mechanisms of non-traditional isotope systems in achondrites (pallasites, acapulcoites, lodranites, ureilites, and iron meteorites), in micrometeorites and in microtektites to understand the high-temperature processes in the early Solar System, with specific accent on early planetary differentiation, such as core formation, mantle fractionation, volatilization and condensation.

My PhD project at University Ghent (Belgium) on Ni and Fe isotopic fractionation during asteroid differentiation was among the first studies on cosmochemistry of Ni stable isotopes.

My postdoc at GREGU and CRPG Nancy, (France) was focused onto development of new ¹⁸⁷Re-¹⁸⁷Os and ¹⁴⁷Sm-¹⁴³Nd based approaches for dating U deposits, and we were the first to suggest rammelsbergite (a Ni arsenide mineral) as a simple Re-Os age proxy having no common Os.

During my research under collaborative EOS project at University Ghent, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), I investigated Fe, Mg and Zn isotopic evolution during the earliest stages of planetary formation using ureilites, primitive achondrites, and microtektites.

You can find further description of a diversity of my projects in the papers & projects section.