The School of Earth System Science (SESS) at Tianjin University announces the appointment of Dr. Robert Mark Ellam, Fellow of Royal Society of Edinburgh, as a chair professor and he starts in September 2023.

Prof. LIU Congqiang, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dean of SESS, said: “We are thrilled to have Prof. Ellam join SESS, where he will play a key role in helping to shape and advance the school’s research program. Prof. Ellam is a leader in the field of isotope geochemistry. He has already made enormous contributions to this area of research, and we are fortunate that he joins us to further advance and galvanize the field of clumped isotopes. We are poised to make progress in this exciting area of research and talent training as well.”

Prof. Ellam is a member of its 1st session of International Academic Advisory Committee. After witnessing the school’s rapid growth in the cross-disciplinary research of Earth System Science, he made up his mind to work at Tianjin University full-time.

At SESS, Prof. Ellam and his team plan to extend the Earth Systems philosophy to find holistic solutions that transcend traditional sub-disciplinary constraints. They will focus on using isotope geochemistry to understand the nature and evolution of the solid Earth. In particular, they use volcanic rocks as sampling missions from the deep Earth. Prof. Ellam’s first NSFC grant awarded in 2022, is focused on understanding a longstanding paradox in which some basaltic rocks, which they believe originate from the deepest layers of the silicate Earth, have been difficult to reconcile with theoretical models of Earth formation and evolution.

“I look forward to being thoroughly engaged in the school’s journey to international prominence, making my own modest contribution to the worldwide profile of TJU and being part of addressing the truly global challenges facing the Earth System." said Prof. Ellam.

More recently Prof. Ellam has been involved in clumped isotope geochemistry, a technique that exploits the temperature-dependent tendency of molecules to form rare-isotope-enriched isotopologues. At SUERC, he commissioned the first 253 Ultra, a new generation of high-resolution isotope ratio mass spectrometer designed specifically for clumped isotope applications. SESS acquired one of the early production 253 Ultras in 2019. “I look forward to realizing the potential of this exciting new instrument that promises to remove much of the uncertainty involved in isotope-based palaeotemperature reconstruction", Prof. Ellam said.

Prof. Ellam comes to SESS from SUERC, where he had been working since 1990 and was Director from 2012-2017. Prof. Ellam received his Ph.D from the Open University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s national academy. He has made many outstanding contributions to geochemistry, earth dynamics, especially the structure and evolution of the North Atlantic region, and environmental radioactivity. He was previously Copernicus Visiting Scientist at the University of Ferrara, and is one of the top two percent of cited scientists globally.

By School of Earth System Science

Editor: Sun Xiaofang