About me: I am originally from Massachusetts, and have been slowly working my way west. Originally as an undergrad I was interested in being a chemist, but I soon realized that some of the most exciting chemistry relates to planets and how they form. I decided to become an experimental geochemist combining the best of lab-based chemistry with fieldwork and nature’s wonders. I went to the MIT/WHOI joint program for graduate school where I was lucky to study with some amazing scientists, and be within walking distance of Fenway Park. After moving to Washington University in St. Louis in 2014, I get to disturb the peace at Busch stadium dressed as a Cubs/Red Sox fan!
Research Interests
Prof. Mike Krawczynski is an experimental geochemist that leads a multidisciplinary research program studying the formation and evolution of planets at high pressure and temperature combined with fieldwork at volcanoes on Earth. He is the PI of the Experimental Geochemistry Lab at Washington University, part of the larger Experimental Studies of Planetary Materials (ESPM) group, which includes rock deformation and experimental geophysics. Our group is also affiliated with the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering (IMSE) and the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences (MCSS).
Experimental studies on natural materials such as rocks, minerals, and meteorites are a key to unlocking knowledge about planet formation, crustal evolution, time scales of magmatic and volcanic events, and a petrologic understanding of our place in our solar system. The extreme conditions that characterize chemical reactions within the earth and other planets can be recreated in this lab. Mike’s research focuses on both terrestrial and planetary questions such as: the timing of pre-eruptive perturbations and magma mixing that occurs before volcanic eruptions; constraining cooling rates of early planetesimals in our solar system; studying large scale magmatic fractionation of planets such as core and mantle formation through magma oceans or crustal formation (in particular the Moon); and exploring the effect of volatile elements on magmatic evolution at subduction zones. Mike’s lab specializes in pushing the field of experimental geochemistry forward by combining high temperature experimental work with detailed precise analytical techniques, taking advantage of the plethora of advanced analytical equipment at Washington University in St. Louis.
Teaching
EPSc 133 Natural Disasters
EPSc 441 Introduction to Geochemistry
EPSc 544 Methods of Geochemistry
Recent Publications
- Nie N.X, Dauphas N., Alp E.E., Zeng H., Sio C.K, Hu J.Y., Chen X., Aarons S.M., Zhang Z., Tian H-C., Wang Da, Prissel K.B., Greer J., Bi W., Hu M.Y., Zhao J., Shahar A., Roskosz M., Teng F-Z, Krawczynski M.J., Heck P.R., Spear F.S. (2021) Iron, magnesium, and titanium isotopic fractionations between garnet, ilmenite, fayalite, biotite, and tourmaline: Results from NRIXS, ab initio, and study of mineral separates from Moosilauke metapelite. Geochimica and Cosmochimica Acta, 302:18-45, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2021.03.014
- Goltz A.E., Krawczynski M.J., Gavrilenko M.,Gorbach N.V., Ruprecht P. (2020) Evidence for superhydrous primitive arc magmas from mafic enclaves at Shiveluch volcano, Kamchatka. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 175:115, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-020-01746-5
- Prissel K.B, Krawczynski M.J., Van Orman J.A. (2020) Fe-Mg and Fe-Mn interdiffusion in ilmenite with implications for geospeedometry using oxides. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 175:62, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00410-020-01695-z
- Gavrilenko M., Krawczynski M.J., Ruprecht P., Li W., Catalano J. (2019) The quench control of water estimates on convergent margin magmas. American Mineralogist, 104:936-948, https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6735
- Reagan M.M, Gleason A.E., Liu J., Krawczynski M.J., Van Orman J.A., Mao W.L. (2018) The effect of nickel on the strength of iron nickel alloys: Implication for the Earth’s inner core. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 283:43-47, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2018.08.003
- Prissel K.B,, Krawczynski M.J., Nie N.X., Dauphas N., Couvy H.,Hu M.Y., Alp E.E., Roskosz M. (2018) Experimentally determined effects of olivine crystallization and melt titanium content on iron isotopic fractionation in planetary basalts. Geochimica and Cosmochimica Acta, 238:580-598, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2018.07.028
- Song Z., Wu H., Shu S., Krawczynski M., Van Orman J., Cherniak D.J., Watson E.B., Mukhopadhyay S., Morgan D. (2018) A first-principales and experimental study of helium diffusion in periclase MgO. Physics and Chemistry of Mineral, 45:641-654, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-018-0949-y
- Fu X., Wang A., Krawczynski M. (2017) Characterizing amorphous silicates in extraterrestrial materials: Polymerization effects on Raman and mid-IR spectral features of alkali and alkali earth silicate glasses. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 122:839-855, doi:10.1002/ 2016JE005241
- Boneh Y., Wallis D., Hansen L.N., Krawczynski M., Skemer P. (2017) Oriented grain growth and modification of ‘frozen anisotropy’ in the lithospheric mantle. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 474:368-374, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.06.050
- Van Orman J.A., Krawczynski M.J. (2017) Kinetics of stable and radiogenic isotope exchange in geological and planetary processes. EMU Notes in Mineralogy, Vol. 16, Chapter 17, 1–29