Stephen E. Kaczmarek

Dr. Kaczmarek is an assistant professor of geology and director of the Carbonate Petrology & Characterization Laboratory at Western Michigan University. His academic interests focus on the physical and chemical processes involved with forming sedimentary carbonates. He is especially interested in the processes and outcomes of diagenetic alteration in limestones. Most of his work requires detailed textural and geochemical characterization. To obtain this information, he and his students utilize high-temperature laboratory experiments along with various analytical instruments, including X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), thin-section petrography (TSP), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and stable isotope (C & O) geochemistry. His research activities are supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and industry sponsorships.

After earning his Ph.D. in 2005, Dr. Kaczmarek was employed as a research scientist for ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company (2005-2011). There, he investigated limestone petrogenesis, taught a variety of courses, and worked on global exploration and production projects. After leaving URC in 2011, he returned to academia as an assistant professor of geology at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. In 2015, he joined the faculty at WMU.

Dr. Kaczmarek serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Sedimentary Research, and routinely referees manuscripts and proposals for more than a dozen scientific journals and grant funding agencies worldwide.

Current Research Projects:

• Dolomite nucleation and growth kinetics
• Controls on dolomite stoichiometry and cation ordering
• Diagenetic controls on the origin of low-magnesium calcite microtextures
• Unraveling the early diagenetic history of Eocene carbonates of Qatar
• Application of XRF for sedimentary and paleoenvironmental research in the MI Basin

Recent Grants:

• 2018-2020: Collaborative research: testing models of calcite microcrystal diagenesis through experiments, geochemistry, and advanced imaging, U.S. NSF (EAR-SGP), #1828880, PI ($155,671).
• 2018-2020: Fostering interest in earth science teaching through the reflective practice of science, U.S. NSF (DUE-IUSE-GEOPATHS-EXTRA), #1701007, co-PI ($365,883).
• 2017-2019: Unraveling the early diagenetic history of Eocene limestones and dolostones, Qatar, ExxonMobil Research - Qatar, #09855 & #09404, PI ($155,000)
• 2016-2019: Acquisition of a handheld XRF spectrometer to enhance sedimentary and paleoenvironmental research, U.S. NSF (EAR-IF) #1636441, PI ($76,771)

Courses:

• Dolomite nucleation and growth kinetics
• Controls on dolomite stoichiometry and cation ordering
• Diagenetic controls on the origin of low-magnesium calcite microtextures
• Unraveling the early diagenetic history of Eocene carbonates of Qatar
• Application of XRF for sedimentary and paleoenvironmental research in the MI Basin

Recent Publications

• Kaczmarek, S.E. and Thornton, B. (2017) The effect of temperature on stoichiometry, cation ordering, and reaction rate in high-temperature dolomitization experiments, Chemical Geology, 468, p. 32-41.

• Kaczmarek, S.E., Gregg, J.M., Bish, D., Machel, H., and Fouke, B. (2017) Dolomite, very-high magnesium calcite, and microbes – implications for the microbial model of dolomitization, in Characterization and Modeling of Carbonates - Mountjoy Symposium I (Eds. A. MacNeil, J. Lonnee, & R. Wood) SEPM Special Publication 109, p. 7-20.

• Winkelstern, I.Z., Kaczmarek, S.E., Lohmann, K.C., and Humphrey, J. (2016) Calibration of dolomite clumped isotope thermometry, Chemical Geology, 443, p. 32-38.

• Kaczmarek, S.E., Fullmer, S., and Hasiuk, F.J. (2015) A universal classification scheme for the microcrystals that host limestone microporosity, Journal of Sedimentary Research, 85, p. 1197-1212.

• Kaczmarek, S.E. and Sibley, D.F. (2014) Direct physical evidence of dolomite recrystallization, Sedimentology, 61, p. 1862-1882.

For a more complete list of publications, please visit Dr. Kaczmarek's web pages on Google Scholar and ResearchGate