Torsten W. Vennemann is a full Professor of Stable Isotope Geochemistry at the Institute for Earth Surface Dynamics, Faculty of Geosciences and the Environment, University of Lausanne. He received his BSc in geology and BSc (Hons) in geochemistry, and his PhD (1989) on fluid-rock interactions during high-grade metamorphism from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Thereafter, he worked at the University of Michigan, USA, focusing on developments of analytical methods and applications of stable isotope geochemistry to geology, ore deposits and paleoenvironments. This focus shifted while at the University of Tübingen, Germany, where questions on changes in past climate and oceanography were of primary interest in addition to applications on contaminated sites. In 2002, he was appointed at the University of Lausanne, continuing to apply isotope geochemistry to a range of questions in Earth sciences with projects in Switzerland, South Africa, Namibia, and India.