Rate My Professor Matt Kohn

Matt Kohn is University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Boise State University, where he joined the faculty in 2007. He earned a B.S. in Geology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986, an M.S. in Geology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1989, and a Ph.D. in Geology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1991. Following a postdoctoral fellowship studying stable isotope geochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kohn held teaching positions at Northern Illinois University, the University of South Carolina, and Washington State University.

Kohn's research interests include the development and use of geochemical techniques to investigate orogenesis, encompassing major element, trace element, stable isotope, and radiogenic isotope geochemistry; chemical and isotopic analysis of metamorphic minerals; climatic and physiological analysis of organic phosphates; stable isotope, electron microprobe, ion microprobe, and ICP-MS analysis; geochronology; and thermodynamics, kinetics, and phase equilibria. His fieldwork has taken him to locations worldwide, including the Himalayas, Alps, Andes, and Appalachians. With over 23,500 citations on Google Scholar, influential publications include "Carbon isotope compositions of terrestrial C3 plants as indicators of (paleo)ecology and (paleo)climate" (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2010, 1,721 citations), "UWG-2, a garnet standard for oxygen isotope ratios: Strategies for high precision and accuracy with laser heating" (Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1995, 844 citations), "Stable isotope compositions of biological apatite" (Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 2002, 728 citations), and recent contributions such as the textbook "Petrology and Plate Tectonics" (2025), which received the 2026 Most Promising New Textbook award, and "Tested: Adventures of an American Scientist in Pandemic China" (2023). Kohn has earned fellowships from the Mineralogical Society of America (2007), Geological Society of America (2008), and American Geophysical Union (2017); served as Mineralogical Society of America Distinguished Lecturer (2012) and Councilor (2015-2017); and received the 2026 Golden Apple Award. He is a prolific author and reviewer for geology journals and contributes to public outreach via articles in The Conversation.