Stefan Schouten

Stefan Schouten is a Professor of Organic Geochemistry at the Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. His research focuses on developing organic proxies (e.g., GDGTs, diols) for reconstructing past climate and environmental conditions in marine and lacustrine settings. He leads the Molecular Paleontology group and contributes to interdisciplinary projects under the Pathways to Sustainability (PtS) initiative.

Research interests span:

• Proxy Development: Creating lipid-based tools for temperature, salinity, and pCO2 reconstructions.
• Paleoclimatology: Investigating Miocene to Holocene climate dynamics using multi-proxy approaches.
• Biogeochemistry: Studying microbial lipid biosynthesis and hydrocarbon degradation in extreme environments.

Recent publications (2020-2023) demonstrate a focus on biomarker applications across diverse ecosystems—from the equatorial Atlantic to high-altitude Asian lakes—with emphasis on calibration, validation, and novel analytical methods.

Awards and honors include:

• Alfred Treibs Medal (2018)
• Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences membership (2018)
• ERC Advanced Grant (2014)
• C.C. Patterson Award (2013)

He collaborates extensively on international projects, though specific student advisees and grants beyond major awards (e.g., ERC) are not detailed in the source text.