photographist

“I grew up in Copenhagen where my mother used to take me to the Geological Museum. I loved this old, beautiful museum and its rock, mineral, and fossil collections; I was reading a lot about everything in the natural world. Much later, after having studied the different disciplines of geology at university, I really liked geochemistry and following my instincts ended up becoming an isotope geochemist. Isotope geochemists work, among other things, with the natural radioactivity of rocks, minerals, and meteorites. Using complex and sophisticated chemical techniques in a clean laboratory I can isolate elements of interest to the geological problems in question. These are both radioactive and radiogenic (produced by the radioactive decay) which, owing to the constant nature of radioactive decay, record the passage of time. In addition to dating events, these elements also trace geological and physical processes and the origins of the rocks and meteorites being studied. By measuring the isotopic compositions of radioactive and radiogenic elements using mass spectrometry, It is possible to date and trace the history of the Solar System and the Earth as well as other terrestrial planets, such as the Moon, Mars, and some asteroids, since the beginning of time.

Curiosity and knowledge drive my research. The big questions such as the age of the Solar System, the age of the Earth, the Moon, and Mars, the processes taking place in the interior of our planet, how and when its core formed, when the first continents arose, and from there questions linked directly to the origin of life… these questions and many more fundamental to science and humanity are fascinating and make us dream but do not attract much funding... Two years ago I was elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. This does not happen to many women despite their often outstanding professional merits. The competition is fierce and difficult for women in fields dominated by men. To be successful you must have integrity, be excited by your work, and work hard. It is therefore key to choose a profession about which you are passionate. To love your work is a great chance in life and increases the odds of succeeding, not to mention the satisfaction of making meaningful contributions to fundamental science.”

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