The German Mineralogical Society awards the Paul Ramdohr Award to Bastian Joachim. The award is presented in recognition of his lecture, “Diffusion-Controlled Growth of Monomineralic Akermanite Reaction Rims in the Ternary System CaO–MgO–SiO₂,” which he presented at the 86th Annual Meeting of the DMG in Halle in 2009.

As part of his doctoral research, Mr. Joachim experimentally simulated the formation of akermanite reaction rims around and within monticellite–wollastonite parageneses. The insights gained into reaction mechanisms, diffusion coefficients, and growth rates are of fundamental importance for reconstructing the pressure–temperature–time evolution of metamorphic rocks.