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]
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/ |
Sumner was born near Seattle, Washington, and spent part of her childhood on the Yakama Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest.[4] From there, she earned a B.S. with Honors in geology from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for her Ph.D. which she completed in 1995. Sumner then returned Caltech for postdoctoral research, supported by an O.K. Earl Postdoctoral Fellowship.[5]
Sumner was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America in 2014.[21] Also in 2014, she was selected to deliver the honorary Carl Sagan Lecture at the American Geophysical Union.[22] In 2016, Sumner was awarded the Career Award for Outstanding Contributions in Geosciences, Geobiology and Microbiology from the Geological Society of America.[23] Sumner also received the distinguished career award from the University of California, Davis 2016: for extensive research in microbiology, geochemistry, and research in the exploration of mars over her career.[24] More recently, Sumner's was one of 14 selected to become a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences for her contributions to the study of microbial sciences.[25]
Sumner is the author of a widely used anti-harassment statement that she made public so that other universities and institutes could use it as a model.[26] A leader in helping institutions develop anti-harassment plans, Sumner presented to a workshop at the 2016 American Geophysical Union on “Addressing harassment and improving workplace climate.”[27] She was also an invited presenter for Association of Polar Early Career Scientists webinar on sexual harassment during fieldwork.[28] Sumner is presently chair of advisory board for The Feminist Research Institute at the UC, Davis[29] In June 2020 she became the leader of the Anti-Racism Action Committee in her department (Earth and Planetary Science) at UC Davis. Sumner also wrote four letters concerning racism and its effects on the science community between late May and early June 2020[30]
Title of Article | Author(s)/ Publication year | Topic(s) | Source |
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Were kinetics of Archean calcium carbonate precipitation related to oxygen concentration? | Dawn Y. and John P. Grotzinger, 1996. | Geology | Geology, v. 24, p. 119-122. DOI: 10.1130/0091-7613 |
Late Archean calcite-microbe interactions: Two morphologically distinct microbial communities that affected calcite nucleation differently | Dawn Y. Sumner, 1997. | Microbiology | Palaios, v. 12, p. 300-316. DOI: 10.2307/3515333 |
Late Archean Aragonite Precipitation: Petrography, Facies Associations, and Environmental Significance | Dawn Y. Sumner & John P. Grotzinger, 2000. | Geology | Late Archean aragonite precipitation: Petrography, facies associations, and environmental significance |
Renalcids as fossilized biofilm clusters. | Dawn Y. Sumner & Nat P.Stephens, 2002. | Microbiology,
Geology, Paleontology |
Palaios, v. 17, p. 225-236. DOI:10.1669/0883-1351(2002)017<0225:RAFBC>2.0.CO;2 |
Poor preservational potential of organics in Meridiani Planum hematite-bearing sedimentary rocks | Dawn Y. Sumner, 2004. | Geology, Mars | Journal of Geophysical Research, Planets, v. 109, E12007. DOI:10.1029/2004JE002321 |
Cracks and fins in sulfate sand: Evidence for recent mineral-atmospheric water cycling in Meridiani Planum outcrops? | Gregory V. Chavdarian & Dawn Y. Sumner, 2006. | Geology, Mars | Geology, v. 34, p. 229-232. DOI: 10.1130/G22101.1 |
Isotopic fingerprints of microbial respiration in aragonite from Bahamian stromatolites. | Miriam S. Andres, R. Pamela Reid, Dawn Y. Sumner, & Peter Swart. | Microbiology | Geology, v. 34, p. 973-976. DOI 10.1130/G22859A.1 |
Undirected motility of filamentous cyanobacteria produces reticulate mats. | R N Shepard & Dawn Y. Sumner | Microbiology, Geology | Geobiology, v. 8, p. 179-190. DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4669.2010.00235.x |
Discovery of large conical stromatolites in Lake Untersee, Antarctica | Andersen, Dale T., Sumner, Dawn Y., et al., 2011 | Microbiology | Geobiology, v.9. 280–293. DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4669.2011.00279.x. |
Origins of Microbial Microstructures In the Neoproterozoic Beck Spring Dolomite: Variations In Microbial Community and Timing of Lithification | Harwood, Cara L., and Sumner, Dawn Y., 2012 | Geology, Microbiology | Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 82, p. 709-722, DOI: 10.2110/jsr.2012.65 |
Antarctic microbial mats: A modern analog for Archean lacustrine oxygen oases | Sumner, Dawn Y., Hawes, Ian, et al., 2015 | Geochemistry, Geology | Geology, v. 43, p. 887-890. DOI: 10.1130/G36966.1 |
Growth of elaborate microbial pinnacles in Lake Vanda, Antarctica. Geobiology | Sumner, Dawn Y., Anne D. Jungblut, et al., 2016 | Microbiology
Geobiology, v. 14, p. 556-574. doi:10.1111/gbi.12188 | |
A habitable fluvio-lacustrine environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars. Science | Grotzinger, J.P., D.Y. Sumner, et al., 2014 (online 2013) | Environmental Science
Science, v. 343, 1242777. doi:10.1126/science.1242777 |
Sumner has presented lectures to public and school groups, and she has participated in videos and films on exploring Mars. These have included presentations at Sierra College,[31] a Northern California Rotary Club,[32] and Sacramento State University's Science in the River City.[33] She appeared in several videos on Mars exploration, including ones hosted by UC Davis[34] and in the Finnish documentary film “The Other Side of Mars”.[35]
Dawn Sumner's research has been covered in local and national media outlets, including Popular Science,[36] Wired Magazine,[37] KPCC public radio,[38] the television series Take Part,[39] and the BBC.[40]