Mark Mahalingam Baskaran

Dr. Mark Mahalingam Baskaran is a tenured full-time Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Geology at Wayne State University (WSU), leading research in isotope geochemistry and environmental radioactivity. He previously chaired the department (2018–2024) and holds a Ph.D. in Physics from India's Physical Research Laboratory (1985), followed by postdoctoral work there and at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. His career includes teaching at Texas A&M University before joining WSU in 2007.

His research focuses on applying short-lived radionuclides (e.g., 210Po, 210Pb, 7Be) as tracers to study Earth systems, including sediment dating, particle cycling in marine environments, and Arctic Ocean dynamics. He has led six oceanographic expeditions and contributed to major NSF-funded GEOTRACES projects. Key achievements include editing Springer's Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry (2011) and authoring Radon: A Tracer for Geological Studies (2016).

Dr. Baskaran has published over 165 peer-reviewed articles (h-index 61, 10,594 citations) and received prestigious awards like AAAS Fellow (2024) and WSU Academy of Scholars (2021). He served on AGU's Honors Committee and chaired the Devendra Lal Memorial Medal Committee. His teaching spans undergraduate and graduate courses in environmental geochemistry and oceanography.

Grants include NSF funding for Arctic radionuclide studies, USACE sediment assessments, and a National Science Foundation workshop on Great Lakes biogeochemistry. Collaborations span global institutions, addressing climate change impacts and pollution tracking in urban and marine systems.

Labs/Teams: Leads WSU's isotopic research group, collaborating with international teams on GEOTRACES, Arctic expeditions, and urban sediment studies. Active in editorial roles for Journal of Environmental Radioactivity and Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science.