Interview with Prof. Dr. Paul Northrup—Winner of the Geosciences Best Paper Award
Name: Prof. Dr. Paul Northrup
Affiliation: Stony Brook University, USA
Award-winning article:
“Chemistry in Retrieved Ryugu Asteroid Samples Revealed by Non-Invasive X-ray Microanalyses: Pink-Beam Fluorescence CT and Tender-Energy Absorption Spectroscopy”
by Paul Northrup, Ryan Tappero, Timothy D. Glotch, George J. Flynn, Mehmet Yesiltas, Yoko Kebukawa, Leonard Flores, Marina E. Gemma and Gavin Piccione
Geosciences 2024, 14(4), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences14040111
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/14/4/111
1. Congratulations on winning the Geosciences 2025 Best Paper Award! Could you please briefly introduce yourself?
I am a Research Professor in the Geosciences Department of Stony Brook University. My area of expertise is the application of novel synxhrotron-based X-ray microspectroscopy to study the chemistry and mineralogy of complex natural materials, particularly focusing on lighter elements sulfur and phosphorus. This has led me to scientific explorations in both environmental science and space materials. Although seemingly unrelated, much of the same approach is used for studying these different materials, and each helps inform the other.
2. Could you give a brief overview of the main content of your award-winning paper?
This was one of the early studies characterizing the chemistry and mineralogy of samples newly returned by the JAXA Hayabusa2 Mission from asteroid Ryugu. We used a novel combination of two X-ray techniques to study small grains of this precious, pristine material. In their current form, these samples are older than Earth itself and record some of the earliest processes during the formation of our Solar System. Tender-energy microspectroscopy probed the local microscale chemistry of lighter elements (magnesium through calcium), while pink-beam fluorescence microtomography explored heavier elements in the interior of grains without physically sectioning the samples. Both techniques are non-destructive, preserving these precious samples for further studies. Our results provide important clues about the formation and history of the Ryugu parent body.
3. Your study involves advanced non-invasive analytical techniques. What motivated you to adopt these approaches, and how did they change the way you interpret the samples?
Conventional chemical analyses, as well as sample preparation for transmission electron microscopies, are physically destructive to the samples and may even alter the chemistry we are most interested in observing. Synchrotron X-ray techniques are far less invasive, and can study the element-specific solid-state chemistry at the microscale, in-situ, and in the full petrographic context of the lithology and overall assemblage of components in the sample. These measurements preserve samples for future study using other techniques and help guide those studies.
4. Building upon the findings of this study, what major scientific questions does your team intend to address in subsequent research?
First, we are pursuing limited electron microscopies to look at finer details of interesting chemical structures we observed with X-rays. This is coupled with further X-ray analyses of additional Ryugu samples to better characterize the variability among Ryugu samples. Second, we are also studying samples from the asteroid Bennu, sampled by the NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission. A comparative study of these two different carbonaceous primitive asteroids will dramatically improve our understanding of early Solar System processes, the behavior of small protoplanetary bodies, and the origins of materials that were critical for the formation and early sustenance of life, on Earth and potentially elsewhere.
5. What do you think about open access publishing, especially in the context of Geosciences?
Open access publishing is essential in the modern world of research, which is no longer limited to paper copies in large institutional libraries. This broadens the reach of science, and with it, the opportunities for science and the opportunities for discoveries. Accessibility and searchability have become essential.
6. How was your experience with the editorial and peer-review process for Geosciences?
This process was great. The editorial and peer-review process was thorough, high-quality, and significantly improved the initial manuscript. It was also quite timely, which was important with high-impact new samples such as those returned by space missions.
7. What does receiving this award mean to you, and is there anyone you would like to acknowledge?
This is an honor that I am proud to receive, and it was a pleasant surprise. I certainly want to acknowledge my co-authors, as this was indeed a team effort.
8. This year marks the 15th anniversary of Geosciences. What suggestions and expectations do you have for us?
This is not the first paper I have published in Geosciences, and I am impressed with the consistent quality of the journal, even as competition has dramatically increased from many new journals. Keep up the good work! I plan to submit future work to Geosciences.
Beyond this award-winning article, Prof. Dr. Paul Northrup has been steadily building a strong body of work. For those interested in the broader arc of their research, the following journal articles offer valuable insights: