Solomon in Greenland to measure fresh water aquifer below deep ice in 2016.
Solomon holds the Frank Brown Presidential Chair in the department and will replace William Johnson as department chair beginning July 1, 2024.
Johnson served as department chair beginning April 2022. “I’m satisfied to have spurred new infrastructure (SIRFER and clean room), new faculty and two new positions in play, as well as salary transparency and staff domain clarity,” says Johnson of his term. “Kip will be a steady lead as the above changes settle and as additional institutional changes occur.”
Solomon has a PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo and BS and MS degrees from the U’s Department of Geology and Geophysics. He joined the department in 1993 and served as chair from 2009-2013.
His research includes the use of environmental tracers to evaluate groundwater flow and solute transport processes in local-to regional-scale aquifers. He has developed the use of dissolved gases including helium-3, CFCs and SF6 to evaluate groundwater travel times, location and rates of recharge, and the sustainability of groundwater resources. He constructed and operates one of only a few labs in the world that measures noble gases in groundwater. His research results have been documented in more than 120 journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports.
Solomon will also receive the 2024 O.E Meinzer Annual Award by the Geological Society of America in September.
“Geology and Geophysics is a great department and has been strengthened considerably by the hard work and dedication of previous chairs Thure Cerling and Bill Johnson,” said Solomon. “With new hires and academic programs, the future looks very bright.”
By Ashley Herman