I study general principles of metabolic evolution, and take a chemical physics perspective on questions of macroevolution, ecosystem self-assembly and Earth history. I take a comparative approach to reconstructing the evolution of cellular metabolism over geologic timescales, and combine this with information at larger scales and higher levels of organization to understand the nature, drivers and ecological/environmental consequences of innovations. My ultimate goal is to understand the logic that underpins the chemical organization of life across levels of the biosphere, and how chemistry constrains the co-evolution of Earth and the biosphere.
Contact
Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
email: braakman-AT-mit.edu
twitter: @rogier_braakman
Rogier Braakman 