Jessica Fitzsimmons

2026 National Award Finalist — Faculty

Jessica Fitzsimmons

Current Position:
Professor and Chancellor’s EDGES Fellow

Institution:
Texas A&M University

Discipline:
Physical Earth Sciences

Recognized for: Revealing how iron and other metals flow through the ocean, from deep-sea hydrothermal vents to melting glaciers, shaping marine ecosystems and Earth's climate.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Marine Biogeochemistry, Metal Speciation and Isotopes, Deep-sea Mining Impacts, Polar Oceanography, Hydrothermal Systems, Global Biogeochemical Cycles

Previous Positions:

Associate Professor, Texas A&M University
Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Rutgers University (Advisor: R. Sherrell)
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Advisor: E. Boyle)
PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Advisor: E. Boyle)

Research Summary:

Iron is a scarce but vital nutrient in the ocean. It controls the growth of the tiny, but numerous, plankton that feed marine life and pull carbon dioxide from the air, underscoring iron’s important in the climate cycle. Jessica Fitzsimmons, PhD is creating sensitive new methods to measure how iron and other metals move and change in seawater, tracing them from deep-sea hydrothermal vents and melting glaciers out to the open ocean. Fitzsimmons’s findings show how these metals shape ocean life and the carbon cycle, and the risks that emerging deep-sea mining pose to these processes.

“Particle-rich plumes are the signatures of ocean change – from melting glaciers to the impacts of deep-sea mining. I am honored to accept this award to continue to study the impacts of these plumes on ocean nutrients, toxins, and ecosystems.”

Key Publications:

  1. J.N. Fitzsimmons, S.G. John, C.M. Marsay, C. Hoffman, S. Nicholas, B.M. Toner, C.R. German, R.M. Sherrell. Iron persistence in a distal hydrothermal plume supported by dissolved-particulate exchange. Nature Geoscience, 2017. 
  2. J.N. Fitzsimmons, J.M. Steffen. The “net” impact of hydrothermal venting on oceanic elemental inventories: Contributions to plume geochemistry from the International GEOTRACES Program. Oceanography, 2024.
  3. S.G. John, R.L. Kelly, X. Bian, F. Fu, M.I. Smith, N.T. Lanning, H. Liang, B. Pasquier, E.A. Seelen, M. Holzer, L. Wasylenki, T.M. Conway, J.N. Fitzsimmons, D.A. Hutchins, S.-C. Yang. The biogeochemical balance of oceanic nickel cycling. Nature Geoscience, 2022.
  4. N.T. Lanning, S. Jiang, V.J. Amaral, K. Mateos, J.M. Steffen, P.J. Lam, E.A. Boyle, J.N. Fitzsimmons. Isotopes illustrate vertical transport of anthropogenic Pb by reversible scavenging within Pacific Ocean particle veils. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2023. 

Other Honors:

2025 Chancellor’s EDGES Fellow, Texas A&M University
2024 Kavli Fellow, U.S. National Academy of Sciences Kavli Frontiers of Science
2024 Distinguished Achievement in Graduate Mentoring Award, Texas A&M University, College of Arts & Sciences
2023 Research Impact Award, Associate Professor Level, Texas A&M University, College of Arts & Sciences
2021 IAPSO Early Career Scientists Medal in Chemical Oceanography, International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans
2020 Dean’s Distinguished Award for Faculty Service, Texas A&M University
2019 Gulf Research Program Early Career Fellowship, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

In the Media:

Website