David Shuster

Professor

Office Room Number:
479 McCone Hall

Phone #:
(510) 642-2607

Email:
dshuster@berkeley.edu

Fax:
(510) 644-9201

Research Interests:
Noble gas geochemistry, thermochronometry, and cosmogenic nuclide observations applied to problems involving alpine glacial erosion, chemical weathering, lunar impacts and magnetism, and thermal conditions of Martian meteorites; Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission and sample collection.


Home


Student Opportunities


Publications


Academic Background


Research Interests


More information about our research group and labs can be found at:noblegas.berkeley.edu



I encourage students interested in graduate work to contact me by email to discuss various opportunities in the lab.



For a list of publications with downloadable PDFs, please visitthis site




1996 A.B. (Geology) U.C. Berkeley
2003 M.S. (Geochemistry) Caltech
2005 Ph.D. (Geochemistry) Caltech



My work is primarily focused on understanding processes that occur at and near the surfaces of Earth, Mars and Earth’s moon. Most of my work involves laboratory-based geochemical observations and the development of analytical techniques and numerical modeling tools for addressing specific questions. Because the application of “geochemical tools” requires a deep understanding of the basic physics and chemistry of geochemical systems --which in many cases is quite limited-- many of my recent efforts have involved basic research to quantify properties such as kinetics of diffusion and retention characteristics of radiogenic nuclides, and production rates of cosmogenic nuclides.
I am presently engaged in projects studying the development of topography in numerous glaciated and non-glaciated mountain landscapes across the globe, the development and preservation of chemical weathering profiles, and the thermal conditions experienced by lunar samples and meteorites as related to impact events and paelomagnetic observations. I am an active participant in the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission as a Long Term Planner and a Participating Scientist, focussing on sample collection. Opportunities to become involved with these and other projects currently exist for prospective graduate students and postdocs.
Publications are available for download here:noblegas.berkeley.edu/~noblegas/publications.html