Function and Responsibilities:

SIMS Scientist in the Potsdam SIMS Laboratory (http://sims.gfz-potsdam.de):

• Development of new analytical methods
• Characterisation of new reference materials
• Tuning of the 1280-HR instrument
• Assistance of internal and external users  

Research Interests:

Main Research Areas: Petrography and Metamorphic Petrology, Geochemistry and Isotope Geochemistry, Fluid-Rock Interactions, SIMS.

I currently work as a SIMS scientist in the GFZ SIMS laboratory, which is an open user facility intended to support the needs of the global geochemical community as part of the MESI (Modular Earth Science Infrastructure). As a member of the SIMS team:

• I support researchers from the GFZ as well as from other research institutes and universities who are working on projects aiming to use the high-spatial resolution of SIMS techniques to understand, among others, formation of ore deposits or gem stones, recycling of trace elements and fluids across Earth´s different reservoirs, timing of geological processes, seasonal variations recorded in fossils, pre-eruptive conditions and degassing paths of magmatic rocks. 
• I develop new SIMS reference materials and analytical protocols to expand our analytical capabilities and applications in collaboration with colleagues at the GFZ and other research institutes and universities. I am currently focusing on the development of microanalytical reference materials for analysis of:
  1. Stable isotope ratios in a variety of silicates, carbonates and oxides commonly found in ore deposits
  2. Stable isotope ratios in carbonates for paleo-climate reconstructions
  3. Volatile concentrations (mainly water and carbon dioxide) in magmatic systems for reconstructing pre-eruptive conditions and degassing paths 
  4. Stable isotope ratios in ultramafic rocks with applications to carbon dioxide sequestration via mineral carbonation reactions  

In the past, I have worked on:

• Migmatisation processes affecting lower crustal rocks in southern Italy (M.Sc.)
• Application of experimental petrology techniques to study oxygen diffusion in garnet (PhD)
• Development and application of new SIMS methodologies to reconstruct crystallization and alteration (hydration and carbonation) conditions in ultramafic rocks from the Tianshan orogenic belt (China), Nuasahi Massif (India), Isua supracrustal belt (Greenland), Chenaillet ophiolite (Alps) and Samail ophiolite (Oman) (PhD and Postdoc)
• Application of SIMS techniques to reconstruct calibrations of the equilibrium oxygen isotopic fractionation between serpentine and water (Postdoc)

A list of my publications can be found here:

• Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.it/citations?user=K43r418AAAAJ&hl=en)
• LinkedIn (https://de.linkedin.com/in/maria-rosa-scicchitano-02478898)
• ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maria-Rosa-Scicchitano)          

Contact me for discussion of collaborative projects.

Career:

Since 2021: SIMS Scientist in the Potsdam SIMS Laboratory, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences

2018-2020: Research Associate, University of Wisconsin and WiscSIMS Laboratory, Madison, WI, USA (Supervisors: John W. Valley, Noriko T. Kita)   

Education:

2018: PhD in Isotope Geochemistry and Experimental Petrology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia (Principal Supervisors: Daniela Rubatto, Ian Williams)

Projects:

Collaborative research projects

1. Member of the working group of the project RUSTED titled: ”Role of ultramafic and related rocks in the cycle of carbon” (PID2022-136471NB-C22), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and cofunded by ERDF – a way of making Europe. (funding period: 09/2023 - 08/2026)
   • Principal Investigator: D. Vicente López Sánchez-Vizcaíno (University of Jaén, Spain), Co-Investigators: Manuel D. Menzel and José Alberto Padrón-Navarta (Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC Spanish Research Council)
   • I am responsible for supporting the SIMS component of this project aiming to analyse serpentine and carbonate at the microscale for better understanding hydration and carbonation reactions occurring in ultramafic rocks
2. Member of the working group of the project with title: "ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research). Geological Map of Italy at 1:50000 scale. Sheet 551 Bisignano" funded by the Region Calabria (funding period: 2022-2026)
   • Principal Investigator: Francesco Muto, Co-Investigator: Eugenio Piluso (University of Calabria, Italy)
   • I am responsible for supporting the SIMS component of this project aiming to constrain the timing of migmatisation and magmatic (felsic and mafic) intrusions in the crust of Northern Calabria (southern Italy) 

Teaching & Seminars

Lecturer in the short course "SIMS Basics and Stable Isotope Thermometry" (GFZ, 2024)

Seminar on "Oxygen isotopes in serpentinites by SIMS: What can we learn?" (Free University of Berlin and University of Potsdam, 2024)

Lecturer in the short course "Introduction to Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry in the Earth Sciences" held by Dr. Michael Wiedenbeck (GFZ, 2021, 2023)

Lecturer in the short course "Stable Isotope Thermometry with Applications to Fluid-Rock Interactions" (GFZ, 2022)  

Seminar on "Tracking serpentinization processes by SIMS: an example from the Chenaillet ophiolite, western Alps" (University of Potsdam, remote, 2021)

Workshops

Poster presentation on "Isotopic Fingerprinting of Minerals Related to Ore Deposits: Capabilities of the GFZ SIMS Lab" (Topic 8 Conference, GFZ, 2024)

Seminar on "Analysis of light elements by SIMS: reference materials and some applications" (SIMS Workshop, New Dehli, remote, 2022)

Research Boards and Committees:

Academic services

Reviewer for Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Chemical Geology, Ofioliti

Member of the Geo.X Early Career Scientists Team (since June 2024)

Support of intern students at GFZ

Public outreach

Member of the GFZ LinkedIn Team (since January 2024)

Zukunftstag (GFZ, 2024) 

Participations in science communication events organised by the the GFZ-School Lab (GFZ, 2024)

Awards:

2013: Allan White HDR Scholarship, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia