Professor Joel Blum

Professor Joel Blum is a John D. MacArthur Professor and the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. He is a biogeochemist who specializes in studies of toxic metals in the environment. He has developed innovative techniques that enhance understanding of the behavior of mercury, lead and arsenic in the ecosystems. Much of Professor Blum’s research focuses on how atmospheric pollutants influence the structure and function of ecosystems, and on the general application of trace element and isotope geochemistry across the environmental sciences. He has worked on forest conservation at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest and on climate change effects in Arctic regions. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Elementa, Science of the Anthropocene. He earned his Ph.D in Geochemistry from the California Institute of Technology.