Professor Isabelle Daniel is the recipient of the 2024 SFMC Merit Award.
Isabelle is best known for her contributions to modeling fluid-mineral interactions in hydrothermal and subduction settings using high-pressure high-temperature experiments. She has developed several types of in situ spectroscopy methods using both in-house and synchrotron facilities. She has conducted notable work on the volatilization reactions involving serpentine and carbonate minerals, the partitioning and fractionation of various elements in C-O-H-Cl fluid systems, and the reactivity of organic compounds at high pressure. The latter work pioneered the study of interactions between geochemical and biochemical processes under extreme pressure and temperature conditions and inspired many studies related to the seminal question of the origin of life. In addition to these scientific accomplishments, Isabelle has successfully trained several students who have become outstanding scientists and has impressed many collaborators with her ability to transform and inspire new avenues of research. Finally, Professor Daniel has been extremely active at the international level, for example through her involvement in the committees of the Deep Carbon Observatory, and at her home institution in Lyon, providing outstanding service to the geoscience community.
Members of the committee: Fabrice Gaillard, Nathalie Bolfan-Casanova, George Calas, Elisabeth Cottrell, Nadia Malaspina, Isabella Pignatelli, Max Schmidt.
