Rate My Professor Malcolm Reid

Dr. Malcolm Reid is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Geology at the University of Otago, affiliated with the Sciences Division. He holds a PhD and has maintained a distinguished career at the institution spanning over three decades. Reid began as a Scientific Officer in the Department of Chemistry in January 1990, continuing in that role until May 2021, and has served as Scientific Officer at the Centre for Trace Element Analysis since November 2006. As lab manager for the Community Trust Trace Element analysis lab, he operates excimer laser ablation systems coupled to quadrupole and multiple-collector ICP-MS instruments for precise trace element analysis. Additionally, Reid manages the Munida time series project, collecting and analyzing seawater samples from transects up to 60 km offshore from the Otago coast to measure dissolved CO2 and pH levels using UV-vis spectrophotometry, revealing trends in ocean acidification and atmospheric CO2 uptake.

Reid's research focuses on geochemistry, analytical chemistry, and ocean carbonate system measurements, supporting interdisciplinary applications in archaeology, paleodietary reconstruction, oceanography, and environmental monitoring. He supervises postgraduate students, including PhD candidates investigating biological and geochemical controls on marine trace metal isotopes. With 112 publications garnering 1,955 citations, his influential works include 'Comparison of digestion methods for ICP-MS determination of trace elements in fish tissues' (Ashoka et al., 2009), 'Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in European soils: A baseline for provenancing studies' (Hoogewerff et al., 2019), 'Interannual variability of carbon dioxide drawdown by subantarctic surface water near New Zealand' (Currie et al., 2011), 'Migration and mobility at the Late Lapita site of Reber–Rakival (SAC), Watom Island using isotope and trace element analysis' (Shaw et al., 2010), and 'Hair today, gone tomorrow: Analysing potential mercury exposure in 19th-century New Zealand' (Parker et al., 2023). Reid's expertise in contamination-free protocols and high-precision analytics has advanced trace element studies across natural waters, biological tissues, and sediments.