Andrew Babbin

Andrew Babbin is the Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Professor and Associate Professor of Chemical Oceanography and Marine Microbiology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). He joined MIT as faculty in 2017 after serving as an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Civil and Environmental Engineering (2014-2016). In 2024, he was appointed Mission Co-director for the MIT Climate Project's 'Restoring the Atmosphere, Protecting the Land and Oceans' initiative.

He holds a B.S. in Earth and Environmental Engineering (minor in Applied Mathematics) from Columbia University (2008) and a Ph.D. in Geosciences from Princeton University (2014).

Research Focus

Dr. Babbin leads the Bablab research group, investigating microbial interactions with chemical environments to understand climate regulation. Key research areas include ocean biogeochemistry, nitrogen cycling, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas dynamics. His work combines field expeditions across global oceans, laboratory experiments, and computational modeling to study microbial control of atmospheric gases.

Publication Trends

His recent publications (2021-2023) demonstrate a strong focus on marine nitrogen cycling, particularly in oxygen-deficient zones. Research themes include microbial niche partitioning in anoxic environments, denitrification dynamics in marine particles, and novel bacterial/archaeal metabolisms. Methodologically, his team employs microfluidics, genomics, and isotope tracing to resolve microscale biogeochemical processes.

Awards and Honors

• National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2022)
• Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Professor (2021)
• Simons Foundation Early Career Investigator (2019)
• MIT First Year Advisor Rookie of the Year (2019)
• MIT Sea Grant Doherty Professor (2018)

Academic Engagement

He actively integrates undergraduates into climate research and advises graduate students through the MIT-WHOI Joint Program. His educational initiatives include developing high school chemistry modules with oceanography contexts and creating hands-on MIT lab courses. Current projects include NSF-funded work on marine snow carbon transport and J-WAFS-supported development of nitrogen-scrubbing biocapsules.

Institutional Leadership

As Climate Mission Co-director, he coordinates MIT-wide efforts to develop atmospheric restoration and ocean protection strategies. His lab collaborates globally with research institutions in Mexico, Israel, Ukraine, and Norway to study extreme marine environments and develop biotechnological solutions for water treatment.