Dawn Y. Sumner | |
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Born | Seattle, Washington (state), USA |
Alma mater | Caltech; MIT |
Known for | Microbial life in extreme environments ancient microbial life |
Awards | Fellow of the Geological Society of America Career Award for Outstanding Contributions in Geosciences, Geobiology and Microbiology from the Geological Society of America |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | University of California, Davis |
Website | https://dysumner.faculty.ucdavis.edu/ |
Dawn Yvonne Sumner is an American geologist, planetary scientist, and astrobiologist. She is a professor at the University of California, Davis. Sumner's research includes evaluating microbial communities in Antarctic lakes, exploration of Mars via the Curiosity rover, and characterization of microbial communities in the lab and from ancient geologic samples. She is an investigator on the NASA Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and was Chair of the UC Davis Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences[1] from 2014 to 2016.[2] She is Fellow of the Geological Society of America.[3]