معرفی
David A. Fike is the Chair of the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences and holds the Glassberg/Greensfelder Distinguished University Professor title at Washington University in St. Louis. He also serves as a courtesy Professor in Environmental Studies. His affiliations include the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences. He earned his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Professor Fike's research focuses on global biogeochemical cycles, their evolution through Earth history, and impacts on biological evolution. His work integrates isotope geochemistry to study ancient environments, including Paleoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic oxygenation events, Cambrian Explosion dynamics, and Martian environment analogs. His Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Group employs advanced techniques like gas-source isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), including a Cameca ims 7f/geo instrument installed in 2013.
Key projects include mapping carbon and sulfur cycling during the Cambrian Explosion, studying Ediacaran and Phanerozoic sulfate evaporites, and investigating modern microbial mats as ancient environment proxies. His research spans fieldwork, laboratory analyses, and modeling.
His lab’s work bridges Earth and planetary sciences, with implications for understanding extraterrestrial environments and Earth’s climatic evolution.
