Geochemist Kevin Rosso appointed a Battelle Fellow

(Press-News.org) RICHLAND, Wash.— Geochemist Kevin Rosso, a senior scientific leader at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has been named a Battelle Fellow, the highest recognition at PNNL for leadership and accomplishment in science. He joins six other current Battelle Fellows at PNNL in an honor that less than 0.5% of PNNL scientists achieve during their careers.

Rosso is internationally known for his fundamental research on how energy flows among minerals, solutions and microorganisms. These complex processes center on the key role that interfaces—which are shared boundaries—play in controlling how charge is stored and released, in the form of electrons, throughout the environment. This essential flow of energy controls the chemistry of the subsurface, aquatic systems and the very ability of our planet to support life. Rosso’s research for over three decades has led to essential understanding of the role of minerals in the storage, movement and release of energy from atomic to continental scales through scholarship and the publication of more than 430 influential research articles.

In December 2024, he was named a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the largest Earth and space science organization in the world, with roughly 60,000 members. AGU fellows are recognized for their “exceptional contributions to Earth and space science through a breakthrough, discovery, or innovation in their field.” This recent recognition is one of the numerous professional accomplishments that punctuate Rosso’s expansive career, which began at PNNL in 1998 after he received his master’s degree (1994) and doctoral degree (1998) in geochemistry from Virginia Tech.

From the beginning, Rosso has mined rich scientific challenges to be found at the junction points where different scientific disciplines meet. Not content to master only a single specialized area of science, Rosso has pushed the boundaries of what is possible when exploring how different scientific disciplines can combine to reveal more than possible when staying within a narrow specialization. His broad research interests have attracted more than three dozen doctoral and postdoctoral scientist trainees, who have studied with his guidance and mentorship over the years. He currently leads a research group of 38 staff scientists, postdoctoral fellows, doctoral students and interns.

Recognizing the centrality of iron to both life on Earth and to mineral dynamics, Rosso set out to understand how the cycling of energy in the form of electrons through iron controls environmental systems. His studies showed how different forms of iron influence carbon and nutrient movement in natural and engineered environments. Furthermore, he discovered that electrical conductivity in minerals is influenced by the shape of the mineral crystals, a finding that is recognized across several fields of research as being essential to understanding semiconductor behavior.

“I am especially pleased this honor has been bestowed on a scientist who has spent his entire career at PNNL,” said Laboratory Director Steven Ashby. “Kevin is a world-renowned expert in molecular geochemistry—a field he helped create through pioneering research on the reactivity of mineral surfaces, with applications ranging from carbon sequestration to geothermal energy systems.”

Rosso recently undertook a new substantial challenge in leading the Center for Understanding Subsurface Signals and Permeability (CUSSP), an Energy Earthshot Research Center supported by the Department of Energy. CUSSP is charged with developing a working framework to allow controlled fluid flow through large-scale subsurface rock fracture networks. The team’s goal is to develop sustainable geothermal energy systems that can support electricity generation for decades of continuous use. This complex undertaking, which has national and global implications for energy sustainability well into the 21st century, draws on Rosso’s decades of expertise in the modeling and simulation of geochemical dynamics as well as his understanding of how rocks interact with fluid in dynamic settings over time.

He has been called on for his expertise to advise leaders from U.S. Congress and the Department of Energy on matters concerning geothermal energy production, carbon sequestration, stress corrosion cracking in alloys and the design of semiconductor materials for solar cells, among other topics.

Rosso is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Geochemical Society, the Mineralogical Society of America and the European Association of Geochemistry. In addition, he is a member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences and has received honors and awards from several other professional societies, including the Mineralogical Society of America, the European Association of Geochemistry and the Geochemical Society.

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About PNNL

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory draws on its distinguishing strengths in chemistry, Earth sciences, biology and data science to advance scientific knowledge and address challenges in sustainable energy and national security. Founded in 1965, PNNL is operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://www.energy.gov/science/. For more information on PNNL, visit PNNL's News Center. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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