Elizabeth Swanner, Assistant Professor in the Geologic and Atmospheric Sciences Department, received two new grants this fall:

The first is an Iowa Space Grant Early Career Investigator Research Program (ECIRP) grant that will build a collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory. The enrichment of manganese and other metals into lake sediments on Earth will be used to help better interpret the geological and possible microbial history archived on the surface of Mars. This ECIRP will likely fund an undergraduate and provide a unique research experience!

The second is a Doctoral New Investigator grant from the Petroleum Research Fund (PRF), administered by the American Chemical Society. The project will use in situ techniques to gain a new perspective on the way that the mineral pyrite forms in sediments, which is heavily influence by microbial processes, such as microbial sulfate reduction. This grant will fund a student interested in geochemistry.

Congrats Dr. Swanner!