Dr Karen V Smit
My research interests are in the sample-based investigation of geological processes in the deep Earth.
Over the last 14 years, my research has included radiogenic and stable isotopic studies that use mantle xenoliths and diamonds to investigate the petrology and chemistry of the deep Earth; tectonic processes that affect the mantle and result in the growth of continents; and using the stable isotopic composition of diamonds as the ultimate tracer of the deep carbon and nitrogen cycles.
Senior Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand, 2022 – present
Visiting Investigator, Earth and Planets Lab, Carnegie Institution for Science, 2014 – present
Research Fellow, University of Alberta, 2021 – 2022
Research Scientist, Gemological Institute of America, 2016 – 2020
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Gemological Institute of America, 2014 – 2016
​PhD in Geology from the University of Alberta in 2013
MSc in Geochemistry from the University of Cape Town in 2009
BSc (Hons) Applied Earth Science from Stellenbosch University in 2005
​
See my full CV here
​
Public seminars and panel discussions
