Rate My Professor Alex McCoy-West

Dr. Alex McCoy-West serves as Senior Lecturer in Geochemistry within the Earth and Environmental Science discipline at James Cook University, where he heads the IsoTropics Geochemistry Laboratory. He obtained a Master of Science in Geology with First Class Honours from Victoria University of Wellington between 2008 and 2009, followed by a PhD in Geochemistry from the Australian National University from 2010 to 2014. His professional trajectory includes a position as Geothermal Geologist at the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences from 2009 to 2010, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Durham University from 2014 to 2016, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Durham University from 2016 to 2018, Research Fellow at Monash University from 2018 to 2021, DECRA Fellow at James Cook University from 2021 to 2025, Lecturer in Geochemistry at James Cook University in 2023, and Senior Lecturer in Geochemistry in 2025. McCoy-West specializes in applying radiogenic isotopes such as Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb-Os and non-traditional stable isotopes including Fe, Zn, Mo, and Nd to explore geochemical processes.

His research elucidates the formation, differentiation, and evolution of terrestrial planets and their geochemical reservoirs, with significant contributions to understanding early Earth crustal growth and continental emergence. Key achievements encompass using molybdenum isotopes to show that twice the current continental crust volume formed in Earth's first billion years (McCoy-West et al., Nature Geoscience, 2019) and developing pioneering double-spike neodymium stable isotope analyses (McCoy-West et al., Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2017). Current efforts under his Discovery Early Career Researcher Award focus on banded iron formations to trace ocean chemistry changes. Prominent publications include 'The chondritic neodymium stable isotope composition of the Earth inferred from mid-ocean ridge, ocean island and arc basalts' (2021), 'The neodymium stable isotope composition of the oceanic crust: reconciling the mismatch between erupted mid-ocean ridge basalts and lower crustal gabbros' (2020), 'Re-initiation of plutonism at the Gondwana margin after a magmatic hiatus: the bimodal Permian-Triassic Longwood Suite, New Zealand' (2022), and 'Zircon U–Pb emplacement ages of intrusions in the Mary Kathleen Domain, Mount Isa Inlier, Australia' (2025). He has secured grants for projects on rare earth elements, critical minerals, and geochemical exploration. Awards received include the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (2021), Postdoctoral Paper Medal (2018), Faculty of Science Award for Research Excellence by an Early Career Researcher Finalist (2020), J.C. Jaeger PhD Scholarship (2010), and D.A. Brown Travel Scholarship (2013), underscoring his impact in geochemistry, planetary science, and economic geology.