Professor of Geology
Guest Faculty for Climate Science in Physics
230 Padnos Hall of Science
Department of Physics
Grand Valley State University,
Allendale, MI 49401-9403, US

Tel: (616) 331-3020
Email: m[email protected]

Education 

• Ph.D.in Geology:  Northern Illinois University (1999).
• M.S.:  Geological Engineering Middle East Technical University (1994).
• B.S.: Geological Engineering Middle East Technical University (1991).

Professional Experience

• Guest Faculty for Climate Science – Physics Department, Grand Valley State University, 2025 - Present
• Visiting Fellow, Princeton University, 2013.
• Professor of Geology, Grand Valley State University, 2012 - Present.
• Associate Professor of Geology, Grand Valley State University, 2005 - 2012.
• Assistant Professor of Geology, Grand Valley State University, 2000  - 2005.
• Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology, .Grand Valley State University, 1999 - 2000.

Selected Professional Activities

• Lead PI of Mekik Climatology Lab, 1999 - Recent.
• Chair of Geology Department - Grand Valley State University, 2016 - 2021
• President of Paleoceanography- Paleoclimatology at the American Geophysical Union, 2016 - 2018
• Chair of the University Academic Senate - Grand Valley State University, 2011 - 2013 
• Editor, Marine Geosystems/Nature, 2011 - 2012

Teaching:

• GEO 100 Environmental Geology
• GEO 103 Oceans
• GEO 105 Living with the Great Lakes
• GEO 107 Climate Change: A Hot Science
• GEO 111 Exploring the Earth
• GEO 112 Earth History
• GEO 175 Research Tools for Geosciences
• GEO 220 Earth’s Surface Processes and Materials
• GEO 415 Invertebrate Paleontology
• GEO 417 Physical Climatology
• GEO 430 Oceanography

Research Interests:

Climate Science (Mekik Climatology Lab), Oceanography, Micropaleontology, Earth History, Renewable Energy

Recent projects:

• Advance Calibration of a Deep Sea Carbonate Ion Proxy (NSF-supported)
• Developing Marine Paleotemperature Proxies
• Developing Systems for Mass Use of Solar Energy
• Public Education About Climate Science

Selected Publications:

1. Climate literacy in crisis: Why understanding climate science matters more now than ever (October 29, 2025) Michigan Advance

2. Students: The Most Important People on Campus. (October 25, 2025) Academic Leader

3. Teamwork in Learning is Passe. (2025) Accepted for publication in Faculty Focus

4. Higher Education "Crisis" is a Myth – and a Dangerous One. (2025) Published in University Business
5. Raising Communication-EQ in Academia. (2026) Accepted for publication in The Department Chair, a Wiley publication.
6. Tips for Successful Asynchronous Teaching: Creating Engaging Content (Part 1). (2025) Times Higher Education (THE)/Inside Higher Ed, Campus
7. Tips for Successful Asynchronous Teaching: Supporting Students (Part 2), (2025) Times Higher Education (THE)/Inside Higher Ed, Campus  
8. Advice for College First Years from a Quarter-Century Professor, (2025) The Teaching Professor 
9. Of Sound Mind and Memory: An Unexpected Way to Engage Students in General Education Courses (2025) The Teaching Professor 
10. Studer, A., Mekik, F., Ren, H., Hain, M., Oleynik, S., Martinez-Garcia, A., Haug, G and Sigman, D. 2021. Foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotope evidence for similar rates of water column denitrification in the eastern equatorial Pacific during the last ice age and the Holocene.  Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology. DOI: 10.1029/2020PA004063
11. Hayes, C. T., Costa, K. M., Calvo, E., Chase, Z., Demina, L., Dutay, J-C., German, C. R., Heimbürger-Boavida, L. E., Jaccard, S.L., Jacobel, A., Kohfeld, K. E., Kravchishina, M. D., Lippold, J., Mekik, F.,  Missiaen, L., Pavia, F. J., Paytan, A., Pedrosa-Pamies, R., Petrova, M. V., Rahman, S., Robinson, L. F., Roy-Barman, M., Sanchez-Vidal, A., Shiller, A., Tagliabue, A., Tessin, A. C., van Hulten, M., Zhang, J. 2021. The Composition and Flux of Sediments in the Global Ocean.  Global Biogeochemical Cycles. DOI: 10.1029/2020GB006769
12. Mekik, F. and Winkelstern, I., 2020. Field testing the fidelity of δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C in reconstructing upper ocean hydrography. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020PA003880.