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Katrina Jane Edwards (15 March 1968 - 26 October 2014) was a pioneering geomicrobiologist known for her studies of intraterrestrials (organisms living below the ocean floor), specifically exploring the interactions between the microbes, geological surroundings, and how global biogeochemical processes were influenced by these interactions. She spearheaded the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigation (C-DEBI) project, which is ongoing. Edwards taught at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) and later became a professor at the University of Southern California.[1][2] Edwards helped organize the deep biosphere research community, heading the Fe-Oxidizing Microbial Observatory Project on Loihi Seamount, supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and serving on several program steering committees involving ocean drilling.

Life and education
Katrina Edwards was born the third of five children in March 15, 1968 in Columbus, Ohio, to Sandra and Timothy Edwards. At Columbus Alternative High School Katrina completed her secondary education, and pursued an early career at the Delaware Municipal Airport in general airport operations and later as a chief flight instructor. While continuing her work at the airport, Edwards attended Ohio State University to persue an undergraduate degree in geology. In 1994, she received her bachelor’s degree with honors.

In 1996 Edwards left her work at the airport to attend the University of Wisconsin, Madison where she studied geochemistry, mineralogy, microbiology, oceanography, molecular biology and ecology. There she earned a master’s in geology with emphasis on isotope geochemistry and in 1999 she earned the first Ph.D. in geomicrobiology awarded by the university. It was also at UW-Madison she met her future husband. In 1999 Edwards moved to Massachusetts to join Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. There she established a geomicrobiology lab, where focus is directed on the microbial transformation and degradation of solid Earth materials, specifically rocks, minerals, and organic matter.

Katrina Edwards died on October 26, 2014 at the age of 46. Edwards is survived by her parents, her siblings, and her three children.

Work and discoveries

--Early work

--Discoveries

Honors and scientific achievements

Selected publications

Before Katrina Edwards explored the how the ocean's crust is affected by sub-seafloor microbes, there had been very little study on the life existing below the crust and sediment of the ocean. Edwards received the A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in Marine Science in 2012.