Otter, Laura

Within the field of environmental mineralogy, I investigate the formation, composition and function of mineral solids, particularly biominerals (e.g. mussel shells, otoliths and mother-of-pearl in cultured pearls), under varying environmental conditions. My focus is on the influence of external factors on growth, structural organisation and element distribution in biominerals, as well as the information that can be derived from this about life cycles, environmental stress and specific applications such as climate reconstruction. 

• Biomineralisation and biogeochemical mineralisation processes
• Mineral-organic interfaces
• Nanoscale mineralogical processes
• Phase transitions in amorphous and crystalline solids
• Micro- and nanospectroscopic methods
• Biologically inspired materials / biomimetics

• 2008-2015 Studied geosciences (B.Sc. and M.Sc.) with a focus on biogeochemistry, gemmology and mineralogy, Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) Mainz (Germany)
• 2014-2016  Research assistant, Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz
• 2016-2020 Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University (Australia)
• 2019 Beate Mocek Prize of the German Mineralogical Society 2020 Postdoctoral researcher, Macquarie University (Australia)
• 2020–2025 Postdoctoral researcher, Australian National University (ANU) (Australia)
• since February 2026 tenure track professorship in environmental mineralogy, University of Vienna