Dr. Anthony Chappaz has become a strong advocate and an emerging leader in the cutting-edge research field of molecular geochemistry. Most of the geochemical community keeps relying on elemental concentration and, when available, isotopic composition to investigate trace element biogeochemical cycles, but often neglect molecular aspects. Unfortunately, this omission can lead to misinterpretation of ancient environmental archives, misunderstanding of biogeochemical processes or plain speculation. Using trace element molecular geochemistry can contribute to prevent such pitfalls by combining measures of concentration, isotope signature, mapping and speciation at micro or nanometer scales using state-of-the-art techniques. The applications are almost infinite and can offer new insights in biogeosciences, environmental sciences, climate sciences, material sciences, forensic sciences and medical sciences.

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Prof. Thomas Pichler