Rate Professor Dianne Newman

Academic Profile

Academic Background: Dianne Newman earned her BA in German Studies and Biology from Stanford University in 1993 and her PhD in Environmental Engineering from MIT in 1997.

Research Interests: Her work centers on microbial energy conservation, particularly in oxygen-scarce environments, with applications to ancient sediments, soils, and chronic infections. She studies bacterial biofilms and their metabolic adaptations.

Appointments: Gordon M. Binder/Amgen Professor of Biology and Geobiology at Caltech since 2016, Merkin Institute Professor (2024), and previously an HHMI Investigator (2005–2016).

Awards: Elected to the American Philosophical Society (2025), National Academy of Sciences (2016), and received a MacArthur Fellowship (2016).

Publications: Key works include studies on arsenate respiration in bacteria published in Science and Nature.

Additional Contributions: Newman mentors students through the Caltech Connection program, fostering research opportunities for community college students.