Katharina Pfaff, Ph.D.
Katharina Pfaff is a mineralogist and geochemist with the USGS, specializing in X-ray–based mineral and elemental characterization. She manages the USGS X-ray Laboratory in Lakewood, CO, where she provides analytical support for a broad range of USGS efforts, including critical minerals research, Earth MRI projects, mineral-system investigations, and national mineral-resource assessments.
Katharina Pfaff is a Physical Scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and manages the USGS X-ray Laboratory in Lakewood, Colorado. Her work focuses on mineralogical and geochemical characterization in support of USGS and external projects, including but not limited to critical minerals, Earth MRI initiatives, mineral system studies, and national resource assessments.
Pfaff oversees analytical workflows for X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and related laboratory techniques, and she provides technical support to USGS scientists working on a broad range of mineral-resource and geologic-mapping efforts. She develops and refines laboratory methods, maintains quality-assurance practices, and assists project teams with data interpretation and integration. Her work spans bulk mineralogy, quantitative phase analysis, geochemical screening, and characterization of diverse sample types ranging from drill core to environmental materials.
Before joining the USGS, Pfaff managed the Automated Mineralogy and Scanning Electron Microscopy laboratories at the Colorado School of Mines, where she supported research on critical minerals, hydrothermal systems, and materials characterization. She holds a Ph.D. in geology with a focus on mineral chemistry and mineral-resource applications. Her work contributes to USGS efforts to improve mineral-resource data, advance analytical capabilities, integrate datasets across scales, and strengthen the scientific foundation for domestic critical mineral evaluations.