John Rakovan State Mineralogist for New Mexico and Senior Mineral Museum Curator, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801 Mineralogist/Senior Mineral Museum Curator NMBGMR 9/1/2022-present Adjunct Professor Department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science Miami University 9/1/2022-present Faculty member at Miami University 1998-2022 Postdoctoral research faculty Virginia Polytechnic Institute 1996-1997 Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1996 M.S., University of Illinois at Chicago, 1990 B.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988

Research Interests: Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry, Environmental Mineralogy, Mineral Deposit Formation My research focuses on fundamental aspects of mineralogy including as crystallography, crystal chemistry, and crystal growth and their connection to environmental and technological uses of minerals, and mineral deposit formation. Much of this work deals with apatite and other apatite supergroup minerals.

Chemically zoned fluorapatite from the Panasqueira tungsten deposit Portugal (Joaquim Callén photo ). HRTEM photomicrograph of the apatite structure (Mark Krekeler image).

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Eponym of the mineral rakovanite.

Recipient of the Carnegie Mineralogical Award 2019

Research in the News: Wire Silver and Gold: National Geographic; Los Alamos National Laboratory Press Release; Geology paper

Partial Vitae

Selected Publications

RESEARCH

NMBGMR FACILITIES

NMBGMR MINERAL MUSEUM

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PHOSPHATES GEOCHEMICAL, GEOBIOLOGICAL, AND MATERIALS IMPORTANCE  Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry V48

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Apatite Mineral monographs V.17

Apatite Nomenclature - IMA Full Report

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Apatite: A mineral for all seasons Elements Magazine V.11 #3

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Apatite: World Review Comprehensive reviews of specimen and gem producing localities Rocks & Minerals May/June 2015

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Rocks & Minerals

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ONLINE PRESENTATIONS

How Crystals Grow - 2016 Dallas Mineral Symposium

Rochester Mineralogical Symposia 2020-2023 (online)

New Insights Into Wire Silver and Gold Formation - MSA Minerals Day

Crystal Faces & Crystal Forms - 2022 Dallas Mineral Symposium

Mosaic, Macro-Mosaic and Split Crystals - Young Mineral Collectors & TFMG 2024 Tucson Speaker Series

Sakura Ishi - 2025 Minerals of AZ Symposium

Links