Prof. Dr. Olivier Bachmann

Prof. Dr.  Olivier Bachmann

Prof. Dr. Olivier Bachmann

Deputy head of Dep. of Earth Sciences

ETH Zürich

Inst. für Geochemie und Petrologie

NW E 83.3

Clausiusstrasse 25

8092 Zürich

Switzerland

Additional information

Research area

Olivier Bachmann’s research focuses on better understanding the eruptive dynamics of volcanoes, and the generation of magmas, tied to the evolution of the continental crust.

His group’s main research areas are (1) the causes and consequences of large, explosive, volcanic eruptions, (2) magmatic differentiation, (3) magma reservoir dynamics and (4) controls on eruptive styles.

The group uses a variety of techniques, which involves field observations, geochemical analyses of natural and experimental samples, geophysical analyses and numerical modeling, to provide an integrated picture of the processes involved from magma generation to the eruption at the Earth’s surface.

Olivier Bachmann has been a Professor of Magmatic Petrology at the Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology in the Department of Earth Sciences since 2012.

He was born in Geneva in 1973.

Olivier Bachmann obtained a BSc in earth sciences at the University of Geneva in 1995, an MSc in 1997 and a PhD in Volcanology-Petrology-Geochronology in 2000. From 2001 to 2003 he was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

In 2003 he returned to Switzerland to work as a lecturer at the University of Geneva until 2007. In 2007 he was appointed as an Assistant Professor and in 2011 an Associate Professor at the University of Washington.

CV PDF

Honours

Year Distinction
2018 AGU Fellow
2018 Joanne Simpson Medal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2015 Mineralogical Society of America, Distinguished Lecturer
2004 Paul Niggli Medal Paul Niggli-Foundation, young scientist award in the earth sciences.
2001 Schläfli Award, Swiss National Academy of Science, for outstanding work of young scientists of Swiss nationality

Additional information

Professor Bachmann is married and has three children.

Course Catalogue

Spring Semester 2024

Number Unit
651-0254-00L Seminar Geochemistry and Petrology
651-3002-01L Earth Science Excursions I
651-3503-00L Magmatism and Metamorphose II
651-4032-00L Volcanology
651-4032-01L Volcanology Field Course
651-4180-01L Integrated Earth Systems I
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