John Eiler is a geologist and geochemist specializing in the distribution of stable isotopes among natural materials. His research is best known for developing the study of natural molecules containing two or more rare isotopes. His research techniques have been applied to the chemical physics of isotopes and used to solve applied problems in Earth history, environmental science, and planetary science, including paleothermometers, the atmospheric budget of CO2 and H2, hydrogen cycle of the earth’s interior, differentiation of basaltic lavas, and use of isotopes on meteorites which have been altered by water. Thus John’s research has provided new insights into the body temperatures of dinosaurs, Earth’s climate in the distant geological past, the rates of elevation change in mountain belts, thermal histories of rocks from Mars and primitive asteroids, and the origins of thermogenic and biogenic natural gas.

Professional history

• Director, Caltech/Thermo Fisher Center for Isotomics (1/15 to present)
• Robert Sharp Professor of Geology and Geochemistry, Caltech (6/08 to present)
• Director, Caltech Microanalysis Center (1/06 to present)
• Professor of Geochemistry, California Institute of Technology (5/06-6/08)
• Associate Professor of Geochemistry, Caltech (7/03-5/06)
• Assistant Professor in Geochemistry, Caltech (7/98-6/03)
• Senior Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology (7/97-6/98)
• Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology (5/96-7/97)
• Post-doctoral researcher, California Institute of Technology (6/94-5/96)
• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Fellow (1992-93)
• Teaching Assistant, University of Wisconsin (1991)
• NSF Pre-Doctoral Fellow, University of Wisconsin (1989-92)

Honors

• Packard Fellow (2001-2006)
• Mineralogical Society of America Award (2002)
• James B. Macelwane Medal (2002)
• Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (2002-present)
• Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology Excellence in
• Teaching Award, 2002-2003
• Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology Excellence as a
• Research Mentor Award, 2007-2008
• S. Epstein Medal, European Association of Geochemistry (2009)
• Fellow of the Geochemical Society
• Distinguished Alumnus Award of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Geoscience (2010)
• Arthur L Day Award of the Geological Society of America (2012)
• Fellow of the Geological Society of America (2013)
• Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2017-present)
• Distinguished Alumnus Awards of the University of Iowa College of Letters and Sciences and the Department of Earth and Environmental Science (2019)

Illustrative recent publications

• Eiler JM, et al. (2014) Frontiers of Isotope Geoscience. Chemical Geology 372, 119-143.
• Eiler, John and Cesar, Jaime and Chimiak, Laura et al. (2017a) Analysis of Molecular Isotopic Structures at High Precision and Accuracy by Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry. International Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 422 pp. 126-142.
• Eiler, John M. and Clog, Matthieu and Lawson, Michael et al. (2017b) The isotopic structures of geological organic compounds. In: From Source to Seep: Geochemical Applications in Hydrocarbon Systems. Geological Society special publication. No.468. Geological Society, London, pp. 53-81.