Matthew Pasek is an Professor in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His research focuses on Phosphorus Chemistry in the Environment, including the effects of phosphate mining, phosphate mineralogy within fertilizer production, identifying specific molecular biochemical pathways of phosphorus, and phosphorus geochemistry. He is also an expert on the effects of lightning on soil, rock and sand working in part to understand the damage caused by electric discharge on various materials. He currently has written over 79 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has been awarded over 4.5M in federal funding, from NASA and NSF.