Rate My Professor Kai Rankenburg

Dr. Kai Rankenburg serves as Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University, Perth, Australia, and holds the position of Research Associate at the John de Laeter Centre. He is affiliated with the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Building 312 (Geology), Room 303. As an isotope geochemist, his research specializations include geochemistry, cosmochemistry, isotope geochronology (such as Rb-Sr, U-Pb, Lu-Hf), meteorite studies, planetary evolution, crustal evolution, sedimentary basin fluid history, and climate proxies derived from corals and snake scales. He has expertise in advanced analytical methods like LA-ICP-MS/MS and contributes as contact for the GeoHistory Facility Laser Ablation ICPMS.

Rankenburg completed his PhD and previously worked as Research Associate in Geochemistry at the Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany from December 2002 to July 2003, and as Instrumentalist in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Western Australia from November 2010 to July 2018. He has professional experience in Germany, France, the United States, and Australia. His publication record includes over 70 papers with more than 1,700 citations. Key works are 'Anthropogenic emission of platinum-group elements into the environment' (2006), 'A universal multi-trace element calibration for reconstructing sea surface temperatures' (2018), 'Resolving multiple geological events using in situ Rb–Sr dating of muscovite' (2020), 'Snake scales record environmental metal(loid) contamination' (2021), 'Stable Isotope Provenance of Unidentified Deceased Migrants—A Pilot Study' (2023), 'Garnet Reference Materials for In Situ Lu‐Hf Geochronology' (2024), 'Eoarchean granulite-facies metamorphism in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex, southwest Greenland' (2024), 'Petroleum accumulation history of deeply buried carbonate reservoirs' (2024), and 'Corals Ba/Ca records uncover mid-twentieth century onset of land-based pollution' (2025). He has presented at events including AuScope 2021 and Goldschmidt conferences.