Miami University

Associate Professor

Ph.D. (1996) SUNY @ Stony Brook
126 Shideler Hall
513-529-3245
rakovajf@muohio.edu

My research interests involve the integration of low temperature geochemistry and mineralogy in the study of crystal surfaces and water-rock interactions found in natural systems. In particular, I am interested in processes such as crystal growth, metal sorption, trace element partitioning and other surface mediated reactions. I am also concerned with the structural response of minerals to substituent elements, especially lanthanides and actinides in apatite group minerals.

Possible thesis/dissertation topics:

• The formation of precursor minerals and their role in metal sequestration during apatite growth.
• Crystallography and crystal chemistry of apatite group minerals with applications to environmental and material mineralogy.
• The role of crystal surface structure on symmetry lowering of crystal structures during growth.

Current/recent graduate student research:

• Tomasz Marchlewski (Ph.D. in progress) Coprecipitation of Pb and As in apatite and applications to environmental remediation.
• Gregory Schmidt (M.S. in progress) Metal-metal bonding in ionic minerals.
• Yun Luo (Ph.D. in progress) Crystal Chemistry of U, Th and other radionuclides in apatite.
• Olaf Borkiewicz (Ph.D. in progress) The role of precursor formation on apatite growth at low temperatures.
• Frederick Partey (M.S. 2004) Source of fluorine and petrogenesis of the Rio Grande Rift type barite-fluorite-galena deposits.
• Stephanie Bosze (M.S. 2001) Surface structurally controlled sectoral zoning in fluorite: implications to understanding heterogeneous reactivity at the mineral-water interface.

Selected publications:

Partey, F., Lev, S., Casey, E., Widom, E., Lueth, V. and Rakovan J. (In press) Source of fluorine and petrogenesis of the Rio Grande Rift type barite-fluorite-galena deposits. Economic Geology.

Lupulescu, M.V., Rakovan J., Dyar, M.D., Robinson, G.W., and Hughes, J.M., (In press) Fluoro-Potassichastingsite, a new member of the group 2, calcic amphiboles. Canadian Mineralogist.

Luo, Y., Rakovan, J., Hughes, J., and Pan, Y. (2009) Site preference of U and Th in Cl, F, Sr apatites. American Mineralogist, 94: 345-351.

Rakovan, J., Gasbarro, N., Nakotte, H., Kothapalli, K., and Vogel, S.C. (2009) Characterization of Gold Crystallinity by Diffraction Methods. Rocks and Minerals, 84:54-61.

Hughes, J.M., Wise, W.S., Gunter, M.E., Morton, J.P. and Rakovan, J. (2008) Lasalite, Na2Mg2(V10O28) 20H2O, a new decavanadate mineral from the Vanadium Queen Mine, la sal District, Utah: mineral description, atomic arrangement, and relationship to the pascoite group of minerals.Canadian Mineralogist, 46:1364-1372.

Rakovan J., Luo, Y., and Borkiewicz, O. (2008) Synchrotron Microanalytical Methods in the Study of Trace and Minor Elements in Apatite. Mineralogia, 39:31-40.

Selected grants:

Apex Companies 2008
Evalutaion of Phosphate Induced Metal Stabilization on Former Refined Metals Site, Jacksonville, Florida.

National Science Foundation 2007 (with H. Dong (PI), r. Edelmann, S. Zou and G. Pacey)
MRI: Acquisition of a High Resolution Analytical Transmission Electron Microscope for the Miami University Electron Microscope Facility.

National Science Foundation 2004 - 2008 (with John Hughes and Chris Cahill)
Crystal chemistry of U, Th and other Radionuclides in Apatite: Environmental and Geochemical Implications.

Teaching Interests:

GLG 111 - The Dynamic Earth
GLG 201 - Mineralogy
GLG 280D - Gems & Gem Mineral Formation
GLG 430/530 - Mineral-Water Interface Geochemistry
GLG 432/532 - Clay and Clay Mineralogy
GLG 632 - X-ray methods in crystal structure analysis
GLG 699 - Scanning Probe Microscopy (summer workshop)
GLG 720 - Advanced Mineralogy Seminar: Spectroscopic Methods

For complete descriptions of courses please click here.