معرفی
Stephen Mojzsis is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and currently holds visiting or honorary professorships at several leading European institutions, including the University of Oslo (2024–2025), Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) Budapest, and the University of Jena. He is a 2024 Member of Academia Europaea and a Humboldt Research Professor, recognized for seminal work in planetary geochemistry, cosmochemistry and the origins of life.
Education:
- Ph.D. Geochemistry & Solid-State Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, 1997
- M.A. Geology & Mineralogy, Boston University, 1992
- B.A. Geology & Paleobiology, Boston University, 1988
Research Interests:
Stephen Mojzsis integrates geochemistry, cosmochemistry and planetary science to understand the origin and early evolution of planets and life. His work spans the chemistry of the earliest Earth and Moon, sulfur-isotope tracers of Archean subduction, the composition of late-accreted material, and the mineralogical diversity of rocky exoplanets. He also explores prebiotic chemistry on Hadean Earth and early Mars, investigating how silicate glasses and hydrothermal systems could have facilitated RNA polymerization and the emergence of life.
More broadly, he pursues Geoastronomy—linking stellar abundances in the solar neighborhood to the bulk compositions and long-term geodynamic evolution of terrestrial exoplanets, thereby constraining habitable environments across the Galaxy.
Scientific Awards & Distinctions:
- Member, Academia Europaea (2024)
- Humboldt Research Prize, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2021–2024)
- Ida Pfeiffer Professorship, University of Vienna (2021)
- Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry (2021)
- Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society (2021)
- Fellow, Geological Society of London (2021)
- Honorary Professor, ELTE Budapest (2022)
- External Member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2016)
- Fulbright Faculty Scholar (2007)
- ASSETT Outstanding Teacher Award, CU Boulder (2014)
Advising & Funding:
Between 2001 and 2023 Mojzsis supervised 8 PhD students, 6 post-doctoral researchers, 6 MSc and 5 BSc students. He has served on numerous grant panels including ERC Synergy and Advanced Grants, DFG Schwerpunkt Programme, NASA Exobiology, and NSF Graduate Research Fellowships. His research has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, NASA, the European Research Council, the Humboldt Foundation, and other international agencies.
Service & Leadership:
From 2020–2023 he served as President of the Division of Planetary and Solar System Sciences of the European Geosciences Union. He is (or has been) an editorial board member for Geobiology, Astrobiology, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Annales Geophysicae, and several other journals, and reviews for Nature and Science among more than 20 journals.
