- Graduate Field Affiliation
- Geological Sciences
Biography
Karin Olson Hoal is the Wold Family Professor in Environmental Balance for Human Sustainability at Cornell University. She has degrees from St Lawrence University, McGill University, and the University of Massachusetts and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cape Town. Her early research in diamonds, anorthosites and metasomatism of the Proterozoic mantle led to work in the minerals industry and subsequent roles developing the fields of quantitative mineralogy and geomet – understanding the nature of geologic and mineral variability for more effective mineral operations. Before coming to Cornell, Karin was Director of the Advanced Mineralogy Research Center at Colorado School of Mines, developing new applications in quantitative mineralogy for minerals, energy, environmental and planetary science. She is a consultant in geomet and has worked and lectured in Southern Africa, Australia and the Americas. Karin is a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists, Chair of the Sustainable Development Committee for the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, an active member of Women in Mining and an Emeritus board member for the Colorado Women’s Education Foundation.
Research Interests
Karin is the 2025 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Science, Technology, and Innovation with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Perth, Western Australia. The collaboration with CSIRO expands geology-engineering linkages to include an engagement-through-science community knowledge share at early stages of mineral resources activities, recognizing that innovations in this space will likely come from well-informed stakeholders outside the sector. CSIRO leads the world in developing technologies in mineral resources, minerals characterization, geomet and community engagement. The outcomes of this research will be applied to sites in the US as well.
As the Wold Family Professor, Karin’s focus areas relate to helping transform the minerals and energy industries be more innovative, effective and sustainable while providing the essential materials and power needed by global society. This work involves building interdisciplinary approaches that directly link geological variability in the subsurface with positive business outcomes to reduce the uncertainty and risk in mineral projects. Technical derisking of projects integrates the data from characterization of geological materials with process characteristics and downstream sustainability impacts. Research into the micron- to meter scale elemental and mineral deportment of ores, energy materials, and their waste products helps to uncover both deleterious components as well as potentially valuable materials that may be naturally upgradeable. To do this work requires cross-functional approaches and new data-centric 3D models, and we are building partnerships with industry and financial institutions to develop this space. Corollary projects include developing geomet-economic models, quantifying the benefits of improved geological understanding in mining, geological variability in diamond deposits, mineral characterization of mine waste, mineralogy of beach sands, Adirondack geology applied to Cornell’s Earth Source Heat geothermal project, and landfill mining.
Select Publications
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Article: Q&A with Karin Olson Hoal — “I was the girl who brought in the big rock.” EAS Magazine, April 2024
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Smieska, L., Guerinot, M.L.; Olson Hoal, K., Reid, M., and Vatamaniuk, O., 2023, Synchrotron science for sustainability: life cycle of metals in the environment, Metallomics, vol 15, Issue 8, August.
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Olson Hoal, K., 2023, Build a bigger tent for a better industry, in Proceedings of the World Mining Congress, Brisbane Australia, 7 pp.
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Olson Hoal, K., Fecht, S., Restrepo, O., Smith, N., Anderson, C., 2022, Sustainable development across the minerals value chain, Mining Engineering, p 18-23, December 2022.
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Olson Hoal, K.E., and Frenzel, M., 2022, Ores drive operations: Economic geology is the foundation for geometallurgy, SEG Discovery, No 129, p 30-43, doi:10.5382/Geo-and-Mining-15, Society of Economic Geologists, Littleton.
Education
- Ph.D., Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- M.Sc., Earth Science, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
- B.Sc., Geology, Music, and French, St. Lawrence University, Canton NY
- 2eme Degré French, Université de Rouen, Mont St-Aignan, France