Rate My Professor Phillip Ihinger

Phillip D. Ihinger is a Professor in the Geology and Environmental Science Department at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he serves in Phillips Hall 161. He earned his Ph.D. in Geology and M.S. in Geochemistry from the California Institute of Technology, along with a B.A. in Geology from Pomona College. Ihinger has held faculty appointments at UW-Eau Claire for an extended period, including as Chair of the Department of Geology, and has contributed to departmental initiatives such as curriculum development and name changes to reflect evolving programs.

His research specializations include the theoretical and analytical study of hot-spot magmas in oceanic and continental environments, experimental and analytical investigations of the role of volatiles in magmatic processes, and the role of water in nominally anhydrous minerals, with particular emphasis on hydrous impurities in quartz crystals and their application to studying crystal growth from hydrothermal solutions. Ihinger teaches courses such as Earth Resources, Global Environmental Change, Mineralogy & Petrology I, II, and III, and Physical Geology. His peer-reviewed publications demonstrate significant contributions to geochemistry and petrology. Key works include Ihinger, P. D., and Zink, S. I. (2000) Determination of relative growth rates of natural quartz crystals, Nature, 404, 865-869, which was featured on the journal's cover; Ihinger, P. D., Zhang, Y., and Stolper, E. M. (1999) The speciation of dissolved water in rhyolitic melt, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 63, 3567-3578; Bell, D. R., and Ihinger, P. D. (2000) The isotopic composition of hydrogen in nominally anhydrous minerals, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 64, 2109-2118; Silver, L. A., Ihinger, P. D., and Stolper, E. M. (1989) The influence of bulk composition on the speciation of water in silicate glasses, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 104, 142-162; Ihinger, P. D., Hervig, R. L., and McMillan, P. F. (1994) Analytical methods for volatiles in glasses, Reviews in Mineralogy, 30, 67-121; and Zhang, Y., Stolper, E. M., and Ihinger, P. D. (1995) Kinetics of reaction H2O + O = 2OH in rhyolitic glasses: Preliminary results, American Mineralogist, 80, 593-612. Ihinger has mentored undergraduate students in research projects presented at symposia, including geochemical studies and numerical simulations.