Research Interests

My research focuses on understanding both how and why organic carbon persists in the terrestrial environment on different timescales. I use various geochemical methods, such as stable and radiogenic carbon isotopes, to understand how fast organic carbon cycles through particular reservoirs and what controls the rate of this cycling. I am particularly interested in understanding if certain carbon compound classes are selectively preserved in the Earth’s critical zone and to what extent mineral-carbon interactions control these processes.

PhD, Geological Sciences: Isotope Geochemistry, Cornell University, 2019

MS, Environmental Engineering, Southern Methodist University, 2014

BS, Chemistry, University of Notre Dame, 2011

Inagaki, T.M., Possinger, A.R., Grant, K.E., Schweizer, S.A., Mueller, C.W., Derry, L.A., Lehmann, J. and Kögel-Knabner, I. (2020) Subsoil organo-mineral associations under contrasting climate conditions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 270, 244-263 

Grant K.E., Galy, V.V., Chadwick, O.A., Derry, L.A. (2019) Thermal oxidation of carbon in organic matter rich volcanic soils: insights into SOC age differentiation and mineral stabilization. Biogeochemistry 144, 291–304

Hemingway, J.D., Rothman, D.H., Grant, K.E., Rosengard, S.Z., Eglinton, T.I., Derry, L.A. and Galy, V.V. (2019) Mineral protection regulates the global preservation of natural organic carbon. Nature 570, 228-231

Hemingway, J., Galy, V., Gagnon, A., Grant, K., Rosengard, S., Soulet, G., Zigah, P., McNichol, A. (2017). Assessing the Blank Carbon Contribution, Isotope Mass Balance, and Kinetic Isotope Fractionation of the Ramped Pyrolysis/Oxidation Instrument at NOSAMS. Radiocarbon, 59(1), 179-193. doi:10.1017/RDC.2017.3

Barton, L. E.; Grant, K. E.; Kosel, T.; Quicksall, A. N.; Maurice, P. A. (2011) Size-Dependent Pb Sorption to Nanohematite in the Presence and Absence of a Microbial Siderophore. Environmental Science & Technology 45 (8), 3231-3237.