User:Lotukka/Annette Summers Engel

= Annette Summers Engel[edit] = Annette Summers Engel (born 1972) is Donald and Florence Jones Professor of Aqueous Geochemistry in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She studies karst geology and geochemistry, the molecular microbial ecology of extreme environments and symbiotic associations, and the mechanisms which microorganisms use in colonising different environments on Earth.

Education[edit]
http://issm2017nz.com:From the age of 12, Annette Summers Engel knew she wanted to be a professor. She was inspired by exemplary scientists who were able to bridge disciplinary boundaries while studying cave geology and biology. She holds a PhD from The University of Texas at Austin, where her geochemistry and geomicrobiology research focused on cave and karst systems. Now, as the endowed Jones Professor of Aqueous Geochemistry at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, she teaches and mentors students across disciplinary boundaries. Her research examines the microbial diversity and ecology of extreme environments and symbiotic associations, from caves to shallow marine systems, investigates how geological, geochemical, and environmental (including anthropogenic) conditions control the distribution of life in the landscape, and delineates how life, in turn, shapes that environment through time. Because knowledge of biodiversity in these places is generally limited, and many subsurface and shallow near-surface environments are at risk of being destroyed or irreparably damaged, the first goal for her research is to determine the biodiversity, which requires tedious, and sometimes risky, human exploration. Her research is leading to new exploration strategies that can help in the management and conservation of undescribed subsurface environments. Moreover, because she believes that “out-of-sight” should not be “out-of-mind,” her work is providing important information about the critical role of the subsurface to human populations.

She received her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences in 2004 from The University of Texas at Austin. Her dissertation adviser was Phillip C. Bennett. She has M.Sc from both Biological Sciences (1999) and Geology (1997) from University of Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to these, she received her B.A in Geology in 1995 from Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio.

''Dissertation Advisor: P.C. Bennett M.Sc. Biological Sciences 1999 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio Thesis Advisor: B.K. Kinkle M.Sc. Geology 1997 University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio Thesis Advisor: W. Huff B.A. Geology 1995 Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio Senior Thesis Advisor: J.R. Ritter''

Scientific career[edit]
August 2011 – July 2016. Jones Associate Professor of Aqueous Geochemistry. University of Tennessee, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Knoxville, Tennessee.

August 2011 – May 2012. Adjunct Associate Professor. Louisiana State University, Department of Geology & Geophysics

May 2010 – July 2011. Associate Professor of Geomicrobiology. Louisiana State University, joint appointment to the Department of Geology & Geophysics (primary department, 75%) and Department of Biological Sciences (secondary department, 25%)

2010-2013 Adjunct Doctoral Graduate Faculty. Texas State University, Department of Biology, San Marcos, Texas

2004 –2010 Assistant Professor of Geomicrobiology. Louisiana State University, joint appointment to the Department of Geology & Geophysics and Department of Biological Sciences (secondary)

1999 - 2004. Research and/or Graduate Teaching Assistant. University of Texas at Austin, Dept. Geological Sciences. Funded by National Science Foundation, John Jackson Fellowship for Hydrology, and University of Texas Endowed Presidential Fellowship.

1997 - 1999. Graduate Teaching Assistant. Univ. of Cincinnati, Dept. Biological Sciences.

1995 - 1996. Graduate Teaching Assistant. University of Cincinnati, Dept. of Geology.

Awards and honours[edit]
National • National Speleological Society Science Award (2014) http://caves.org/committee/award/ Citation: “The NSS Science Award recognizes an individual NSS member who has made significant contributions to the science of speleology…. Annette is described as tireless, enthusiastic, a great teacher, and an inspiration to her students….” From NSS News November 2014, 72(11):9. • Fellow of the Geological Society of America (2012) Citation: Engel “…has made important scientific contributions to the field of biogeochemistry of the subsurface environment, particularly in karst terrain. Her work has led to new insights into biological processing of chemical compounds in aphotic and hydrothermal settings and more recently along the Gulf Coast.” From GSA Today July 2012, 22(7):13. • Fellow of the National Speleological Society (2003) (<6% of the membership reaches Fellow status; nominated and elected by peers and committee) University • G.M. Hall Professorship for Extraordinary Service, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Strong Hall New Building Committee, University of Tennessee (2014) • UT Quest Scholar of the Week, October 7, 2013

2003 - Annette Summers Engel (WUSS #0244) and Megan Porter (WUSS #0262) received NSS Fellow Awards during the NSS Convention.The Wittenberg University Speleological Society (WUSS) is a student-run grotto of the National Speleological Society (NSS) created in 1980, dedicated to the advancement of speleology.

Professional memberships[edit]
Membership in Professional Organizations Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation 2013-present American Chemical Society 2013-present International Society for Microbial Ecology 2010-present International Symbiosis Society 2009-present Karst Waters Institute (Director, Officer) 2005-present AAAS 2003-present American Geophysical Union 2000-present American Society of Microbiology 1998-present Geological Society of America (Fellow) 1996-present Sigma Xi (Full Member) 1994-present National Speleological Society (#31319Life, JM, SA, Fellow) 1987-present Service to governmental agencies at the international, federal, state & local levels • December 16-20, 2013: NASA Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology Panelist, NASA, proposal review panel. • April 24-26, 2013: National Science Foundation Panelist, Critical Zone Observatories, proposal review panel. • June 6-8, 2011. Committee of Visitors - Surface Earth Processes, National Science Foundation. The COV (8 people nationally) reviews the research core-programs in the EAR Surface Earth Processes (SEP) Section: Geobiology and Low-Temperature Geochemistry, Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics, Hydrologic Sciences, and Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology; the review was from 2008-2010. The report can be downloaded at: http://www.nsf.gov/od/iia/activities/cov/geo/2011/REPORT%20OF%20THE%20COV-SEP%202008- 2010_Submitted%2023%20June%202011.pdf • February 21-26, 2011: NASA Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology Panelist, NASA, proposal review panel. • July 14-16, 2010: National Science Foundation Panelist, Dimensions of Biodiversity, Division of Environmental Biology, proposal review panel. • October 26 – 28, 2009: National Science Foundation Panelist, Systematic Biology and Biodiversity Inventories, Division of Environmental Biology, proposal review panel. • April 2006: National Science Foundation Panelist, Geobiology and Low Temperature Geochemistry Panel, Earth Sciences Research, proposal review panel. Annette Summers Engel Curriculum Vitae 16 Leadership in public & private organizations (using professional expertise) • November 2014: Chair, Graduate Student Scholarship Program for Cave Conservancy Foundation • November 2013 – present: Board Member, Cave Conservancy of the Virginias (501(c)3 • organization) (elected position). • April 2012 – present: Awards Committee, Cave Conservancy of the Virginias (501(c)3 organization) • 2011 – present: Member of the International Advisory Committee, International Society for Environmental Biogeochemistry (501(c)3 organization) (elected position) • March 2009 – March 2015: Vice-President of Communications, Karst Waters Institute. August, 2007 – March 2009: Assistant Webmaster, Karst Waters Institute. Appointed. • March 2005 – 2008; reelected to 2011: Board of Directors, Karst Waters Institute (501(c)3) (elected position). University Service and Participation (Department, College, University) August 2011- Present (University of Tennessee) • October 2014-present: Member, Diversity ad hoc committee, Dept. Earth and Planetary Sciences • Sept. 2014 – present: Member, Executive Committee, Dept. Earth and Planetary Sciences; member as a consequence of being Director of Graduate Studies • August 2012 – present: Director of Graduate Studies, Dept Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate Program Committee, (member of committee August 2011-June 2012). • June 2012 – present: Member of the Strong Hall Ad Hoc Committee, Dept Earth and Planetary Sciences. • August 2011 – present: Member of the Graduate Program Committee, Dept. Earth and Planetary Sciences • August 2011 – present: Member of the Watershed Science Minor program faculty

As a student, Dr. Engel was intrigued by research at interdisciplinary interfaces. Her educational training aimed to link geology and biology, geology and microbiology, and geochemistry and physics, and her research interests today reflect this early desire to be an interdisciplinary scientist. Her research interests span karst geology and geochemistry, the molecular microbial ecology of extreme environments and symbiotic associations, and on how life (microbes and animals) is distributed in a landscape through time, controlled by geological and environmental conditions. Dr. Engel holds a PhD from The University of Texas at Austin, focused on the disciplines of geochemistry and geomicrobiology. As a professor at Louisiana State University and most recently at the University of Tennessee, her goal is to teach and mentor students as close to disciplinary interfaces as possible. She has explored thermal extreme environments, including Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (USA), El Tatio geyser field in the northern Atacama Desert, Chile, and the Tengchong geothermal area of China. Most recently, her research expanded to study the geochemical and physical parameters that influence change in marine microbial communities through time, such as from anthropogenic activities like oil spills or from sea-level rise. She has conducted research of sandy beaches and muddy coastal marshes. Her interest in symbiosis, which is the obligate association of two or more distinct species, has involved working on the microbiomes of cave beetles, alligators, and clams. In particular, her current research focuses on understanding the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of lucinid clams, their bacterial endosymbionts, and microbes within the habitat associated with vegetation, including seagrasses and mangroves. Dr. Engel has been an avid caver since her childhood, and she has done research in many cave and karst regions in the United States, and has also studied the Movile Cave in Romania, the Frasassi Caves in Italy, and karst springs and caves in Slovenia, Italy, The Bahamas, Mexico, and China. The focus of her karst research has been on systems influenced by sulfidic waters and formed from sulfuric acid speleogenesis. Dr. Engel is also actively investigating the biological diversity of caves in eastern Tennessee, which have potentially high levels of endemism but very little is known about the cave ecosystems. She recently started research on lava tube biodiversity in Hawai'i. Her research has been generously funded by the National Science Foundation, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Cave Conservancy Foundation, and other agencies. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers, dozens of other scholarly contributions, including large datasets and book chapters, and has edited five books. She has been an active officer and Board Member of the Karst Waters Institute since 2005, serving for 8 years as the Vice President for Communications. She currently is a Board Member of the Cave Conservancy of Hawai'i, chair of the student scholarship committee for the Cave Conservancy Foundation, and is on the International Advisory Committee for the International Society for Environmental Biogeochemistry. She als served on the board of directors for the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias from 2013 - 2019. Dr. Engel has received awards for her photography, has been honored for her research and scholarship at both universities for which she has worked, is a past recipient of the James G. Mitchell award from the National Speleological Society, and is a past recipient of a Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation award. She is a Fellow of the National Speleological Society and the Geological Society of America, and is the 2014 recipient of the Science Award from the National Speleological Society. She was elected as a Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2015.

Media appearances[edit]
Dr. Engel's research in Hawaiian lava tubes (read about here) was

featured in a Nature PBS documentary in February, 2019!

"Living Volcanoes."

Big Orange Big Ideas: Rocky Top Tennessee - YouTubeIn 2016, I (along with Audrey and Scott) had the chance to help film a short bit in a UT commercial. We filmed the cave portion "...down in the Tennessee hills..." in nearby Cherokee Caverns. The commercial played during breaks at fall football games, and in 2016 and 2017 the commercial was shown on all major television and cable networks. It was so much fun, and I hope to get a chance to do some more filming soon. Enjoy!

Horizon (TV Series documentary) Herself

- The Secret Life of Caves (2003) ... Herself (as Dr. Annette Summers Engel)

https://news.utk.edu/2013/09/30/annette-engel-receives-nsf-award/