Geochemist, PI, U. Minnesota

Kang Ding received his Ph.D. degree in geochemistry in 1987 at Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Science, under the supervision of Dr. Guangzhi Tu. He is currently a senior research associate in University of Minnesota. His field of research involves hydrothermal chemistry with an emphasis on subseafloor systems. These studies are mainly carried out through experimental effort at elevated temperatures and pressures, especially in the supercritical region of water. In past 15 years, he has been involved extensively with deep submergence science for developing and applying in situ chemical sensors to study hydrothermal fluids venting at mid-ocean ridges.

Geochemist, PI, U. Minnesota

William E. Seyfried, Jr. is the George R. Gibson Professor of Geoscience in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Minnesota. From 1993 to 2006 he served as Head of the N. H. Winchell School of Earth Sciences at the University of Minnesota. Throughout his career he has been involved in experimental studies to constrain heat and mass transport processes in seafloor hydrothermal systems. These studies have benefitted greatly from the more recent development and application of in-situ chemical sensor technologies at deep sea vents, which has been accomplished in collaboration of Dr. Kang Ding.