Research Interests and Accomplishments

Dr. Nealson, the Director of the Microbial and Environmental Genomics Group at JCVI, received his BS degree in biochemistry (1965), and Ph.D. in microbiology (1969), both from the University of Chicago, and did post-doctoral work at Harvard University.

In 1973 he took a position at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD), studying the physiology and ecology of luminous bacteria, fish, and squids. In 1980, utilizing a Guggenheim Fellowship for Sabbatical leave, he shifted his area of work to environmental microbiology and biogeochemistry, with a focus on the interactions between microbes and metals. In 1985 he became the Shaw Distinguished Professor at the Center for Great Lakes Studies in Wisconsin, continuing his studies on metals and microbes. In 1997, Nealson moved to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he directed the astrobiology group, and was the program scientist for the Mars Sample Return Mission. In 2001, he moved to the University of Southern California as the Wrigley Professor of Environmental Sciences, where he helped to establish the program in Geobiology.

Dr. Nealson is the co-chair of the Committee on the Origin and Evolution of Life, and a member of the Space Studies Board – both NAS committees. Dr. Nealson’s present work focuses on the study of biogeochemical processes in ultra-basic (i.e. pH ≥ 11.5) environments, and extracellular electron transport as it relates to the cycling of iron and manganese oxides. He is also actively involved with the use of bacteria both for bioremediation of toxic wastes, and for energy production in biofuel cells.

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