Kristin Johnson-Finn Johnson

Dr. Kristin Johnson-Finn Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). She holds a faculty position with the Rensselaer Astrobiology Research and Education (RARE) Center and serves as a Co-Investigator on a NASA-funded Earth First Origins (EFO) grant. Her research bridges organic chemistry and geology, focusing on astrobiology, prebiotic chemistry, and environmental geochemistry. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Youngstown State University (2010), a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Arizona State University (2017), and completed postdoctoral research at the Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology (2018–2022).

Her interdisciplinary work explores reaction pathways of organic compounds in geologic settings, leveraging hydrothermal chemistry, electrochemistry, and thermodynamic modeling. Key areas include astrobiology biosignatures, mineral-catalyzed reactions, and planetary habitability studies. She collaborates across disciplines, including architecture and environmental engineering, to address carbon sequestration and sustainable chemistry challenges. Her laboratory (PENGUIN Group) emphasizes training students in advanced analytical techniques such as GC-MS, SEM, and NMR.

Dr. Johnson-Finn’s research has been published in journals like Nature Communications, ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, and Astrobiology. She teaches courses on astrobiology, hydrothermal methods, and equilibrium analysis, integrating hands-on experimental approaches with theoretical frameworks. Her group is actively recruiting motivated students and postdocs to tackle interdisciplinary problems in Earth and planetary sciences.