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For printable image click here. Donald L. Sparks UD photo by Danielle Quigley

Donald L. Sparks, S. Hallock du Pont Chair of Plant and Soil Sciences and the director of the Center for Critical Zone Research at UD, has been elected a geochemistry fellow by the Geochemical Society and the European Association for Geochemistry. This significant honor is awarded to less than one percent of the membership of the combined societies each year.

Sparks, of Newark, Del., is a leader in the areas of kinetics of geochemical processes and the application of synchrotron radiation techniques to study fate and transport of metals and nutrients in soils and other natural systems.

The Geochemical Society is a nonprofit scientific society founded to encourage the application of chemistry to the solution of geological and cosmological problems. The European Association of Geochemistry was founded to promote geochemical research and study in Europe.

In addition to this fellowship, Sparks is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)-a very prestigious award. He is also a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy, holding the highest honors given by both societies.

Sparks said, “It is nice to be elected as a fellow of your 'home' society, but it is also an honor to be recognized by societies that represent other fields of science.”

The Geochemical Fellow program was established in 1996. In addition to Sparks, six other fellows are named this year, bringing the total number of fellows to 164. Other notable past fellows include Robert Berner and Karl Turekian (Yale University), Francois Morel (Princeton University), Jill Banfield and Garrison Sposito (University of California Berkeley), and Michael Hochella (Virginia Tech).

In July, the new fellows will be introduced at the Goldschmidt Conference--the premier international geochemistry conference--in Vancouver, Canada. The conference is expected to draw approximately 2200 participants from almost 50 countries.

Sparks attended the University of Kentucky where he received a bachelor's degree in agronomy and a master's in soil science. In 1979, he completed his doctoral degree in soil science at Virginia Tech, upon which he moved to Delaware and began working at UD as an assistant professor of soil chemistry.

Sparks has published three textbooks and more than 170 refereed papers.

Media contact: Katy O'Connell, (302) 831-6758, [kvo@udel.edu]
May 13, 2008