Elizabeth Cottrell

Elizabeth Cottrell is an Adjunct Professor and Chair of the Department of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. She holds roles as a Research Geologist and Curator of the National Rock Collection. Her expertise spans experimental petrology, geochemistry, and volcanology with a focus on mid-ocean ridge and arc basalts, volatile elements, and core formation. Cottrell earned her B.S. from Brown University and Ph.D. from Columbia University.

She leads initiatives like the Global Volcanism Program and has contributed to over 100 publications. Awards include the Geochemical Fellow designation (2023) and Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America (2016). Her research emphasizes volcanic processes, mantle dynamics, and geochemical analysis techniques such as XANES and Mössbauer spectroscopy.