John Grotzinger

John Grotzinger is a field geologist interested in the evolution of Earth's surface environments and the biosphere. His research addresses the chemical development of the early oceans and atmosphere, the environmental context of early animal evolution, and the geologic factors that regulate sedimentary basins.

He has contributed to developing the basic geological framework of a number of sedimentary basins and orogenic belts in northwestern Canada, northern Siberia, southern Africa, and the western United States. He received his B.S. in geosciences from Hobart College in 1979, an M.S. in geology from the University of Montana in 1981, and a Ph.D. in geology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1985. He spent three years as a research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory before joining the faculty of MIT in 1988. From 1979 to 1990, he was engaged in regional mapping for the Geological Survey of Canada.

He currently works as a geologist on the Mars Exploration Rover team, the first mission to conduct ground-based exploration of the bedrock geology of another planet, which resulted in the discovery of sedimentary rocks formed in solid depositional environments.