Together with geologist Martin Fisk and oceanographer Jim Cowen we have been studying microbial life in deep ocean rocks.

Olivia Mason is a graduate student working on this project. (Photo by Alex Siegl)

The goals of this NSF-sponsored research are to identify microorganisms that are associated with igneous rocks in the deep ocean, determine the source of energy they use for metabolism, and culture them for biochemical study.

This project is associated with the IGERT program and is also sponsored by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.